Annual Reviews
by ms17thst
Summary: The Agents are about to receive their Annual Reviews from Mrs. Frederic, but things keep delaying them. Things like espionage and perhaps murder. They don't know it yet - but someone is out to destroy HG Wells - can Myka follow her gut and save her in time? Meet HG's nanobots named after her fellow agents. And why does the name 'Jacques Kenne' sound sooooo familiar?
1. BOT-ched Plans

** Chapter 1 BOT-ched Plans  
**

"**You must lose a fly to catch a trout." Proverb**

It was so simple a question; "_Do you have any idea what it is_?" she asked, but with it he heard the sound of glass exploding – like windows blowing out of a high-rise building like you see in one of those intense action movies. He suppressed the emotion that went with that image and instead, thanked her for bringing it to him and assured her he would keep her in the loop. He was a tenured professor at Harvard whose research in nanotechnology - the engineering of functional systems at the molecular level - had just been unveiled the week before to the thunderous applause of the engineering community and beyond. No one had made the advances he and his team had completed, and they were the first to reveal the invention at so advanced a stage. Time magazine wanted a cover story next week.

Now he gently inspected the object that threatened all of that.

"_Ted, it's Damien. We have had an interesting development in the lab. You know those security checks you've been doing all this time? Well, one of them didn't work Ted. Do you know Dr. Alex Chase? Yes that one. She's brought something to our attention and we need to discuss it immediately. Is there a problem? Yes, there's a problem. Someone has been using our secret technology and I am holding the proof in my hands. Meet me at my office. Oh and Ted? Make sure you bring an explanation for how this happened!_" the professor said slamming his smartphone on the desk.

Damien White was not a patient man by nature. He pushed his hand through his white hair and then ran it down his face. He gently tugged at the Windsor knot of his tie to loosen it just a little. Suddenly, everything felt tight to him. The mere thought of someone stealing his life's undertaking was more than he could tolerate. He picked up the petri dish that contained the tiny object that the woman had brought to him. "_Now, where did you come from and what sonovabitch genius hacked our technology to make you_?" he thought as he squinted at the object. He gently placed the container in the top drawer.

This obviously would take a great deal of explaining on his security administrator's part. Damien poured himself a scotch in a glass and took a slow sip of the liquid fire. He pulled the top drawer opened again and checked to make sure the gun was loaded and handy, just in case he didn't like Ted's answer - and there was little chance that he would. Thievery among top secret labs wasn't entirely unheard of, but this was different. Not only has someone stolen his work- they had already improved upon it.

* * *

Ted had dropped everything to check the mainframe data. He barked orders into the phone for his IT guys to go over everything. Within minutes, the reports all came back the same – no detectable breech. Whoever was doing this was either very good at hacking into a system – or it was a leak from within the lab. Ted started to perspire as he took what reports he could grab and headed over to the lab.

"Doctor White, we have checked everything and there have been no breeches to the security. I swear on my life," were his poorly chosen words.

"It might just take that Ted, because if someone didn't get in, then explain how our technology got out?" Damien asked with a fierce look about his eyes.

"Sir, I've checked every log myself. There is nothing to show someone got in. As for your staff, we have every lab monitored. Hell, we have their cell phones bugged, but there's nothing to indicate someone spoke to anyone. There are only three people besides you and me who have access to that lab and not one of them has all the information. How do you know it's the same?" Ted asked finally taking a breath.

Damien gritted his teeth slowly. "How do I know? Ted, Dr. Chase brought me a robotic insect. It was flying around her hotel room when she met up with an old friend. She's noticed its odd actions because she studies insect behavior for a living. She caught the damn thing and realized it was not organic. That means not living, Ted," Damien said condescendingly.

"You mean it looked like a _real _fly?" Ted asked incredulously. "If someone stole our technology, why would they use it to spy on Doctor Chase?" he asked further.

"I don't know –maybe to see if she would be able to tell the difference. That's not the question, Ted. The question is who would do it?" Damien said.

"Maybe it wasn't meant for her. Who was she with?" Ted asked, his investigative skills coming to the fore. Damien stared at him a moment surprised by the inquiry. He looked at his IPad.

"She spent the weekend at the Westin Hotel with an old marine buddy. He's an IRS Agent now," Damien said.

Alex Chase had given him any information she had – given that she was concerned and surprised by the intruder. She had seen the demonstration of Damien's work just last week and thought just maybe this was part of his research. She wasn't sure what it was - only that it was not real – she had no idea the amount of technology she was holding when she brought it in. Damien had downplayed it and said it might have been from his lab and he would check to see how in God's name it got into her hotel room in downtown Boston.

"Why would someone spy on an IRS agent who was off duty? That does not make sense," Damien concluded.

"Maybe it belongs to the IRS Agent. Perhaps this is how they're going to check up on the underworld crime suspects. Could someone inside the White House know about this?" Ted asked, playing the "_We're all impressed that Damien knows people in high places_" card to appease him. It worked. Damien immediately grabbed his phone.

Damien wasn't sure of anything at the moment, but the threat of losing millions of dollars in research grants and contracts was making him jumpy. He grabbed the tie and let his hand slip down it releasing it at the end as he accessed the contact number.

"Doctor Damien White for the Vice President," he announced into the phone. Silence. "Mr. Vice President, how are you, sir? Thank you for taking my call. Things are getting back to normal in Boston, sir. How is DC? Yes, well I told you this job would never give you a minute's peace," Damien said into the phone.

Fifteen minutes later, he had an assurance from the second highest office that he would check into any and all branches of the government to see if anyone was picking up any chatter about this kind of instrument. If someone in the government had stolen Damien's technology, his old fraternity brother would find out. Ted was relieved to hear they would have someone else exhaust all those possibilities.

"Doctor White, forgive me if this question sounds offensive, but is it possible that someone else discovered this technology on their own?" Ted asked and held his breath. He knew where Damien kept that loaded gun.

Anger spewed in Damien's throat at the mere suggestion and yet, there was no denying that his worst fear was a possibility. He didn't dare show Ted what was inside the petri dish inside the desk drawer. It seemed impossible to Damien that someone could have advanced past his work when he had 'help' advancing where the rest of the field was. His work was touted as 'a year ahead of where the rest were'. A _year_ in the nanotechnology field was the equivalent to a _decade_ in any other field.

"It took us over twelve years to find the right materials – some of which weren't invented until recently – to manufacture the beebot. It took millions of dollars in research and teams working 24/7 to get our prototype. It would have to be someone with long arms and very deep pockets," Damien said, stroking his tie oddly. The gesturing caught Ted's attention who accepted the professor's quirky behavior as a sign of stress.

"I'm going to review your staff's activities on the video feeds," Ted said hoping this was his exit. Damien waved his hand dismissing him.

* * *

Damien pulled out the drawer and was glad he didn't shoot Ted. He was still a necessity at the moment. He took out the petri dish with the black fly that was so realistic looking he was amazed. His own prototype insect looked like a whirlybird – a stem with the wings on top and a triad of motion tracking markers on the bottom. His technology was impressive, the design functional, but it in no way resembled the real thing in nature.

'_How did someone figure out how to get this delicate technology inside a case that resembled a real fly?_' he wondered. As much as he despised the person for stealing it, he admired their brilliance in design.

He pulled the container up to his face to inspect it closer and the most amazing thing happened. Right in front of his eyes – the fly disintegrated. Damien watched in horror as his proof disappeared and all that was left was a small pile of tiny black specks. He knew he would be able to decipher the elements used in this design, but how did they get it to act like a real fly? That boggled the professor's mind. He called in his assistant and asked him to run the contents through the photoelectron spectroscope and report the findings only to him.

Damien sat in his corner office trying to slow down the thumping in his chest. Then his phone rang. It didn't take the Vice President long to find out that there was only one place where that technology could have come from – and it was indeed the IRS. He would reach out to the people in charge if Damien wanted to talk to them.

"That would be great, Mr. Vice President. I do appreciate this. We wouldn't want this getting into the wrong hands," he said slowly. The Vice President thanked his former college roommate for being on top of the security issue. "It's my pleasure," Damien said back.

He ran his fingers over the gun in his drawer. _Someone_ was trying to rob him of his shining moment. '_Thieves deserve to be stopped – at any cost'_, he thought emptying his glass of scotch.

* * *

The call came in directly to Mrs. Frederic. If she knew of _anyone _working on the development of nano-bots, they were to report to Doctor Damien White at Harvard University to discuss their findings. She assured them that they would have the agency's full cooperation.

After all, it was the Vice President of the United States who was calling.

* * *

**As you can see, I read and pay attention to all your comments, feedback and thoughts so thank you in advance to those who will take the time to do so. I appreciate each and every one. **

**Up next - guess whose 'fly' is far more advanced? Our resident genius of course!**


	2. No Fly Zone

**Chapter Two **_**The No Fly Zone **_

"**The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits." ****Albert Einstein**

* * *

It was around that time of year again when Mrs. Frederic conducted her annual reviews of the Warehouse staff. Unlike Artie's daily updates based on how he was feeling about them, Mrs. Frederic's were a bit more formal and actually based on certain criteria. Yet, they never knew what to expect from the erudite leader.

Oddly enough, it was Pete who was most nervous about them. Suddenly, every infraction and bad joke he ever told came back to him and he was certain the Sage had written them down in his file. Myka tried to point out that if she in fact had done that, Mrs. Frederic would have arrived in a truck that morning to haul the files. "Good point," Pete still taking her seriously and ran upstairs to change his shirt for the third time that morning.

Naturally, the least concerned was Helena. She had come a long way in getting back on track to being a Warehouse Agent and by all accounts, had learned many a tough lesson. It simply was not in her nature to worry about what other people thought of her. In Helena's mind – it was hard for other's to assess her because they didn't always understand her. She came to accept their limitations and simply appreciated their efforts.

Myka was somewhere in between her fellow agents. She was confident in her achievements, but aware that everyone had room for improvement. Yes, even Helena. She was pleased ….no relieved …when the Regents promoted Helena to full Warehouse Agent and was no longer '_the agent under Myk_a' ….well in the Warehouse anyway, but that didn't stop Mrs. Frederic from asking Myka to take on a more difficult task. "_It is not Agent Wells' skills as an agent that concerns me_," the Sage confided in Myka months after HG had rejoined the Warehouse. "_It's Helena's social skills_," she pointed out and then asked Myka to help Helena adjust, not to the Warehouse so much as the 21st Century. All this time later, it would appear that Myka had fulfilled her duties. Helena took a much calmer, less egocentric approach to things thanks to the unspoken lessens of one Myka Bering who simply led by example. HG was a careful observer of human behavior, and she drank in with pleasure the way Myka did things. In exchange, Myka discovered a fount of self-confidence whose very roots sprang forth from Helena's encouragement.

The youngest member of the team just wanted the review to be over with. She accepted anything that Mrs. Frederic had to say, but the whole process reminded her of school, so she just gritted her teeth till the end_. Just tell me what to do _was what she would say to Mrs. Frederic, but the Sage believed that the best way to learn something was to discover it for themselves. She may have given them instructions, but she rarely told them what to do.

* * *

The Sage took her place at the head of the table which caused a domino effect of people shifting around when displaced out of their usual seat. Mrs. Frederic watched with a grin as she observed her highly qualified agents deal with something as simple as sitting in someone else's seat. She waited patiently as the proverbial _Goldilocks phenomenon_ took place as people sat, then moved, then settled in. The oddest sight at the table was Pete sitting as erect as a fifth grade school boy in Catholic school.

"At ease Agent Lattimer," Mrs. Frederic finally said and Pete let out a breath.

"Before the annual reviews begin….," Mrs. Frederic started and Pete unwittingly let out his first - "_Oh God here we go_." Mrs. Frederic stopped and looked down the table at him. "_Oh now she's gonna add that!_" he murmured and withdrew back into the chair. Myka reached over and patted his hand to calm him.

"As I was saying, before the reviews begin, I have an announcement. Agent Wells, your most recent work on nanotechnology has caught the interest of a Harvard professor by the name of Damien White," Mrs. Frederic started.

"_The_ Damien White?" Myka asked and explained that she had recently read an article about the advances the university's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences had made in robotic insects. "They have invented a robotic insect that is half the size of paperclip," Myka added and only Mrs. Frederic noted Helena's quiet eye rolling.

"Tell us more, Agent Bering," her boss asked.

"Well, Professor White and his team have spent the last twelve years trying to develop all the materials that would allow for such a small object with sub millimeter scale anatomy and two wafer like wings that flap 120 times per second to fly. It's been a top-secret project until recently when their _RoboBee_ was unveiled and took flight," Myka reported with accuracy.

"Exactly, Agent Bering, which is why the team wanted to know how _their_ technology came into the hands of one of _our_ agents," Mrs. Frederic put forth and all eyes turned to Helena.

"You can't be serious," Helena said when she knew damn well her boss was nothing but serious. "I believe the better question is how this charlatan engineering team would even know that my work had any similarity to their pedestrian invention," HG said indignantly, and then quickly added, "with all due respect."

Myka tried to suppress the smile she felt coming by pulling her lips in. _God, how she loved that accent even when it was wrapped around sharp words. _

"That's a very good question." Pete said hoping to keep the spotlight off of reviews for as long as he could. "How did they know HG was working on …..what are you working on exactly?" he asked her.

"Agent Wells apparently also has been working on nanotechnology, isn't that right Agent Wells?" Mrs. Frederic asked.

"I don't think you can compare my work…," was all HG would say.

"How did they even know Helena was working on it?" Myka asked and her mind was one step ahead. Helena had been working on the invention secretly on her days off and Myka believed she was the only one who knew about it.

"Remember the trip to Boston you took last week, Agent Lattimer?" Mrs. Frederic asked.

"Wait –what?" Pete said wondering how they were back to him already.

"Although the manifests show that you made that trip alone, I believe that isn't entirely true," the Sage said.

"No, I was alone," Pete said nervously. "I mean, you know except for Alex."

It had been an impromptu trip he made over the long weekend to visit an '_old marine buddy_' he told them. In reality, his _buddy_ Alex was a former female marine who served with Pete for a short time. She had friended him on Facebook and the two had been chatting for weeks. She asked if he was ever in Boston and he said he had business there soon. He then made it his business to be there soon. As Pete recalled the rekindling of the old friendship, a smile stretched across his face and his eyes wandered up to the ceiling as recalled the delicious moments. It was a perfect weekend except for the oddity of …..

"HG! What exactly are you working on?" Pete said as a couple of dots started to get closer together.

"Would someone please tell me what is going on?" Claudia asked out of frustration because she thought she was about to hear something technologically amazing.

"Agent Wells, would you care to share with your team your latest work?" Mrs. Frederic said.

"How much is this going to cost?" Artie asked already worried about expenses.

Helena drew in a long breath and decided that annual review day was not the day to argue with your boss. She smiled her concession and said – "Righty-o-then."

"I have developed a rather ingenious microrobot that is no larger than a house fly," HG said grinning obviously proud of her work. "I designed it myself."

"And what does it do Agent Wells?" the Sage inquired.

'Well, it is capable of flying a distance allowing the sender to scan an area via a tiny microprocessor chip and camera…," HG said.

"Get out!" Claudia squealed with Inventor's delight. Oh how she admired her mentor's skill and imagination. "What did you do for the wing propulsion?" the young agent asked as questions formed in her mind.

"Actually, I used …." HG started to share with equal enthusiasm.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Claudia interrupted her.

"I wanted to see if the thing could travel and it did!" HG said losing all sense of who was with them hearing this news.

"How far can it transmit?" Claudia asked over Artie's plea to get back to business. The two inventors were locked in the verbal exchange now.

"1561 miles," HG confirmed.

"Helena, your microbot flew over 1500 miles?" Myka asked incredulously.

"Well, it did have a bit of help," HG confessed eyes cast away from meeting anyone else's.

"Yes, I believe we have Agent Lattimer for unwittingly helping you, don't we Agent Wells?" Mrs. Frederic pointed out.

"Wait, how did I help?" Pete asked.

"You took the insect with you," Mrs. Frederic answered.

"No I didn't," Pete said and laughed nervously again.

"Agent Lattimer, unbeknownst to you – Agent Wells' invention hitched a ride with you," the Sage had figured out.

"The insect? What are you talking about?" Pete said slowly remembering a really pesky fly in his room, but …no!

"No larger than a household fly," Mrs. Frederic informed him.

"You mean the fly in my room – that buzzed all around – that we ..I mean I couldn't kill? HG! You were spying on me?" Pete asked.

"No! Not spying actually… there was no transmission …well no video transmission coming back. Only coordinates actually yes, but I thought you killed it because it went dead," HG answered.

"It would see that Agent Lattimer's _friend_ is an entomologist at Harvard," Irene said knowing more than the sum of the facts.

"She's an ento-what?" Pete asked.

"Wait, Alex is a _she_?" Myka chimed in with a grin.

"Dr. Chase has her PhD in the study of insects," Mrs. Frederic said.

"Oh, I knew that," Pete said. "So, what does - wait – what?"

"Wait, Alex is a _she_?" Myka repeated, the grin getting wider.

"OK yes, Alex is a _she_. You satisfied?" Pete asked.

"I believe the more appropriate question is '_were you satisfied_?" Claudia asked and the table cracked up. Except for their boss, whose expression did not change.

"HG, if you videotaped me, I will … I will," Pete said worried now.

"Not to be concerned, Agent Lattimer, Agent Wells' device did not record, isn't that correct?" the Sage asked HG.

"It did not," HG confirmed, but offering anything further.

"Well I don't like the idea of you putting your fly in my personal business," Pete said annoyed by the whole idea.

Claudia lost in and had to drop her napkin on the floor so that she could excuse herself to pick it up and let out the laugh erupting inside.

"I do apologize, Pete. My _Musca domestica_ was merely an experiment in distance transmission. It was in no way there to encroach upon your seclusion," HG said apologetically.

"Your domestic music what?" Pete said frustrated.

"_Musca domestica_ – housefly," Myka explained. "Helena, I think Pete is feeling his privacy was violated, even if it was in the name of science."

"Oh, yes well I do apologize if little _Artie_ caused you any concern," HG said sincerely.

"Dude, you named the fly _Artie_?" Claudia gasped. She had just come back to the table and bit her lip hard to keep from laughing again.

"You named the fly after me?" Artie said not at all flattered.

"Maybe because the fly is buzzing around and annoying and…" Pete stopped his explanation.

"Oh I am sorry. No - it's A.R.T.I.E - short for '_A redundancy transmission in exoskeleton'_. Its acronym is an unfortunate coincidence," Helena fibbed.

Myka looked over at her knowing fully well there were no _coincidences_ in Helena's work.

"Well your work has earned you a trip to Boston, Agent Wells. Doctor White is quite anxious to meet you," Mrs. Frederic announced.

"Maybe I should go with her?" Pete said not quite sure how he would explain that outburst.

"And miss out on your review?" Artie asked.

"The reviews …. Well, let's just say that this trip is the priority, Arthur. Yes, Agent Lattimer I think it's a good idea if you go with Agent Wells to Boston," Mrs. Frederic stated.

Helena didn't like the idea of going to Boston. She detested the idea of having to discuss her work with anyone. The only thing that would have smoothed that over was Myka accompanying her, but that wasn't being offered.

"And what exactly will Agent Lattimer's purpose be?" Helena asked as if hoping to point out there was no purpose.

"I have my reasons," the Sage answered.

"She has her reasons," Pete reiterated bothered by Helena's question.

"I don't think it's necessary …," HG started to point out, but one look from her boss told her it was not open to discussion.

"Road trip!" Pete yelled out.

No one at the table shared Pete's exuberance. Pete and Helena together were like oil and water. It might look like they were mixing, but within seconds, they would separate and go their own way. What would it be like without Myka to run interference for them? That was exactly what the Sage wanted to know.

Although no one knew it, the reviews had already begun.

* * *

**Thanks for reading along. Always appreciate your comments and thank you in advance for posting any and all.**


	3. Let Freedom Ring

**Got to admit, last week did me in. Interrupted the flow of writing and made getting back on track more difficult. This is by no means a fix –fic but an attempt to completely ignore the debacle of last week and continue with the story.**

* * *

**Chapter 3 Let Freedom Ring **

"**I have nothing to declare except my genius." Oscar Wilde's response to an American customs official**

* * *

Damien White should have felt more content. Knowing people in high places had paid off and within a short time, his esteemed friend called him to say that he had spoken to the woman in charge of the unit where the object had been made. "_Damn it, Damien, I don't know what the hell they're busy doing making fake bugs, but I'm sure it has to do with having too much government money and too much time_," he told him. He thought maybe he'd pay that division a visit to see what was going on sometime soon. It was someone in his office who suggested that it might be special unit in South Dakota that might be able to help him and that is how the Vice President came to speak to Mrs. Frederic. Now her agent would soon be on her way to see Damien to discuss how they made the insect that self-destructed. The VP hadn't asked for their cooperation. He rather insisted on it – and Mrs. Frederic suspected that there was a connection of sorts between him and the professor.

* * *

"I believe your visit will put their minds at ease, Agent Wells, that your design was created here and not copied. Just the same, the orders to have an _open_ exchange at Harvard are coming from high up and are not to be ignored," the Sage informed HG emphasizing the word she thought HG would have the most trouble with.

"You don't expect me to give them my designs, do you? Helena asked in as respectful a tone as she could muster, but the '_hell would freeze over first'_ tone was there.

"What I _expect_ is that you will be cordial in discussing the similarities. I take it you programmed it to self-destruct?" the older woman asked looking at HG over her glasses. It was one of the more ingenious parts of the whole design and HG was especially proud of it. Her Cheshire like grin told Mrs. Frederic everything she wanted to know.

"Well, they have no evidence of your work other than the ashes, so you can limit what you tell them to that," her boss suggested. Mrs. Frederic wasn't about to have the great mind of HG Wells released to the world simply because of _influences_.

"I am not about to …," HG started, but was cut off by the wave of a hand.

"Let's not make this about what you won't do, Agent Wells. Rather, let's make it about what you will do. And you will be on the noon flight to Boston," Mrs. Frederic said in a calm tone.

Helena stared back, all the possible retorts tossing in her head at lightning speed.

* * *

Pete flew up the stairs to pack, is what he said, but it included Skyping with his friend in Boston to tell her the good news. "I've got some business in Boston and will be back there tonight," he said to Alex. She was certain she could free up some time and meet him for dinner.

Myka could tell from his mood that Pete was looking forward to this trip. In stark contrast, Helena grumbled a little as she threw some things in a bag for what would surely only last one night.

"Sounds like Professor White has friends in high places," Myka said sitting on Helena's bed as the Brit tossed items carelessly at the bag. Myka picked up the things that missed the opening and put them into the suitcase.

"Yes, well for Mrs. Frederic to order me to go, I imagine he is very well connected. I mean, only a handful of people would have the knowledge to trace that back to the Warehouse team," Helena said, unsure that she liked how quickly this all happened.

"You'll be okay?" Myka asked folding the silk pajamas that HG had tossed in haphazardly.

"You're not worried about me going overnight to Boston, are you darling?" HG said taking a seat next to Myka.

"No, not worried – I mean it's a quick trip, but it is with … Pete," Myka said.

"Oh I would prefer that it were you as well, love, but I will be back before you know it," HG said patting her leg.

"I'm more concerned about the time there," Myka said knowing HG had not deciphered her message yet.

Helena frowned -giving thought to what Myka was trying to say. _Was it just that she was going to be away overnight or was Helena always this beautiful when she was deep in thought?_, Myka wondered.

"You're not concerned about us being alone in Boston are you dear?" HG asked and invaded Myka's space. "I mean, is there perhaps something...…," she said seductively in Myka's ear, "….that you want to do to make sure that I…," Helena teased. Her warm breath on Myka's ear sent shivers down her spine.

"_Of course not!"_ Myka's left brain said as her limbic system fired on all pistons and the next thing Helen knew she was under Myka being smothered with kisses.

"Of course not," the words finally left Myka's mouth as her lips blazed a trail down Helena's neck.

Helena's words flew down a neural pathway in Myka's brain instantly setting off a raw nerve – the one buried deep behind the 'highly_ trained secret service_ _agent'_ wall that told Myka she could handle anything. Anything - except the thought of someone else touching Helena - no matter how unreal the chance of that happening. _Yeah that nerve._

"Oh my," Helena said with a joyous expression, still surprised by Myka's quick change of mood. She liked that, and she knew how to stoke the fire. "I do hope they booked us separate rooms," she joked, but Myka reached up and released her of her blouse. She knew she was being baited, but it was one of the things she loved about Helena.

"I do love pushing your buttons," Helena said slyly.

Myka leaned into her lover's ear and whispered; "And I am about to return that favor."

Myka mixed Helena a cocktail of sheer agony and wanting until the tenderly delivered release brought short gasps for air and shaking. Myka didn't speak, but her expression said it all – "_You are mine, Helena G. Wells_," was written all over her face.

* * *

Myka knew it wasn't the threat of being with Pete that suddenly made her so territorial. She couldn't yet put her finger on it, but that was because her fingers were otherwise engaged. Thirty minutes later, Helena emerged from her room with a smile and look of total fulfillment on her face. Pete came out of his room and took in the sight.

"Ready to go?" he asked looking HG up and down.

"Sure," HG said not really listening.

"You're ah …," Pete said, waving his finger up and down at the haphazardly buttoned blouse.

"Pardon? Oh silly me," HG said with a dreamy grin that Pete found suspicious.

"You two are….…," Pete started, but wasn't sure which emotion would drive the punch line. As usual, HG was already ahead of him.

"…the standard by which all other relationships should be measured?" Helena asked coyly.

"Whatever," Pete said not wishing to tangle with HG.

Ordinarily that word set HG on edge, but not today. She shrugged her shoulders and giggled, then practically waltzed back into her room, her previous intention forgotten. Myka heard the exchange and took it as a good sign that Helena seemed already tolerant of Pete's oddities. She wanted to ask Helena to promise not to chew him up and spit him out, but that would have shown a lack of faith in HG.

"You know, I've worked really closely with Pete on cases," Myka returned to her point.

"Yes darling, I know," HG said fixing her buttons and getting ready. "I've worked with him as well."

"Yeah, well you know he can be ….," Myka started.

"Childish?" HG asked and followed with; "Boorish? Annoying? Loud? Impertinent? Cheeky? Childish?" in rapid succession.

"You said childish twice," Myka pointed out.

"He has that particular trait in abundance," HG said eyes widening.

"So true sometimes, but he has a heart of gold, you know that right?" Myka said.

"Yes, do you know that expression goes back to the 1500's?" HG said, never too busy for a linguistic lesson.

"What? Oh yes, well remember that okay?" Myka asked.

"That Pete has a heart of a dense, soft, malleable, ductile metal? Or that the expression is from the 16th century?" HG asked sincerely.

"No, about Pete. I don't know why I'm worried," Myka laughed uncomfortably. Helena's return expression didn't comfort her at all. "I didn't know Alex was a girl. I think he asked to go because he's rekindling an old flame, " Myka said romantically.

"Well, I'm very happy for him, but I shan't stay a minute more in Boston than I need to," HG said picking up her light suitcase.

"Just bring him back alive," Myka whispered to herself.

* * *

"Why are you going again?" Artie asked when Pete came down with too much luggage for an overnight.

"I … you know…. Mrs. Frederic …. With HG…. So … you know," Pete said not sure himself.

"Yeah, I thought that was the reason. Would the remaining members of my staff care to join me in the Warehouse today or do we all have to be part of the farewell party for Twiddle Dee and Twiddle ...never mind. Let's go!" Artie yelled back.

"I want to hear all about this robobot when you get back ok? Promise me," Claudia implored her mentor. "Especially if there was video!" she teased.

"I promise," HG said smiling.

"There was no video!" Pete yelled.

Myka and Claudia got into the car as Pete and HG got in the SUV. Myka chastised herself for missing Helena moments after they went their separate ways. '_She's just going over night, geez, Myka get a grip_,' she heard in her head.

"Sounds weird, but I miss them when they leave," her young cohort said of her fellow agents.

Myka smiled to think how young Claudia was, and yet how comfortable she was with herself.

HG's cell beeped when she was waiting for Pete to buy his snacks for the plane ride. "Agent Wells, there is one thing I forgot to mention," Mrs. Frederic said at the other end. "You and Agent Lattimer are going together and returning together. You are not to leave him there," the Sage instructed.

"Yes of course," HG said because getting Pete to leave with her was not going to be problem. She would simply Kenpo him if necessary.

* * *

The five hour flight leaving at noon would get them in too late for Helena to meet with the professor, so a meeting was set for first thing the next morning. That was fine with HG who changed their returning flights from six PM to noon the next day. What she had to say wouldn't take very long. Her interpretation of Mrs. Frederic's words was already taking shape. Pete on the other hand was praying for delays in Boston – maybe a little too hard.

Five hours later, they landed in Boston. Pete was on his phone as soon as they did, telling Alex he had arrived and arranging dinner.

"Hey, you'll be okay right?" he asked Helena, feeling a little guilty for leaving her.

"I assure Pete, I will manage just fine," HG smiled.

Pete grabbed a tourist brochure from one of the kiosks. "Look HG, millions of visitors come to Boston from around the world to learn about how our nation rose from humble beginnings to become the symbol of freedom. _From the rebellious Boston Tea Party to Paul Revere's famous ride_," Pete was reading.

"Or you could go to the U.S.S. Constitution in the harbor and read about its pivotal role against the British in the War of 1812," he read without looking at the Brit's expression. "Come on HG, this is the birthplace of the American Revolution!" he said excitedly.

"Yes, and we British never tire of hearing about it," HG said dryly.

"What? Oooh yeah, cause you're….," Pete hesitated.

"British?" HG asked ironically.

"Well, I was going to say _sore loser_, but okay yeah we can go with British," Pete said putting the brochure away.

"I assure you, Mr. Lattimer; even a Brit can find amusement in _Beantown_, so please rush off to your dinner of whatever it is you have to do. I will be at the hotel should you need me," HG assured him.

"OK and call me if you need me, but only like if it's an emergency. Like you try to take over Faneuil Hall or something," Pete said. "What? I've seen you hold onto a grudge," he said defensively.

"Be off with you Mr. Lattimer before I forget I promised Myka I would not harm you," HG said and she wasn't kidding.

Pete took his leave anxious to see Alex who was waiting at a restaurant near Harvard Square. Helena got in a cab and headed to the hotel. Upon hearing her accent, the Bostonian driver asked if she was English. "Yes, I am," Helena smiled.

"You guys ever going to give Ireland back?" the man asked in his native accent.

Helena groaned and slid back into the seat. She just wanted to get to the hotel, get into a hot bath, and call Myka.

* * *

Damien White was on the phone with Ted. "Has she arrived yet?" he asked his head of security.  
"Yes sir, just checking in to room 614," Ted reported back.

"Make sure she stays there. I'm on my way," the professor said.

He slammed the phone down on his desk and opened the drawer. Damien White needed answers and he needed them quickly. He had buyers in other countries that were promised he would deliver the only robobot of its kind. Now he had to make sure that the US Government didn't have something better. He opened the drawer and took out the gun and put it in his briefcase.

He was going to do what free enterprise called for – dispose of the competition.

* * *

**Thanks for continuing to read. I know there are many stories out there that are more soothing at this time. **  
**Always appreciate your feedback, thoughts, etc. **


	4. Strange Bedfellows

** Chapter Four Strange Bedfellows**

**"We are all like the bright moon, we still have our darker side." Kahlil Gibran**

* * *

"I'm surprised you got back to Boston so quickly," Alex said across the table in the corner of a romantic little restaurant. Since her weekend with Pete, she had thought of little else. She had a crush of him since their marine days when she was in his battalion as a specialist. When he found out that she studied insects, he made every bug joke there was in the book. '_You know what bugs me about you_,' he would say and in spite of the corniness, she would laugh. Pete was married and off limits, but they were good friends until they lost touch, each going off to pursue their careers.

"Yeah well the IRS is needed in all corners of the globe. Well, mostly the US," Pete said laughing.

"Does your work ever get dangerous? I mean, you had all that military training; I just don't see you processing tax returns," Alex inquired.

"Well sure it does, I mean we get called to _snag, bag, and tag_ all the time," he let slipped out. Alex looked at him curiously. "It's IRS code," he tried. Maybe he would explain tonight that he was really Secret Service.

"You know, the weirdest thing happened after you left last time. I noticed that the fly in our room was behaving very strangely and so after you left for the airport, I captured it and realized it wasn't real. I don't know what it was, but I took it to the head of our nanotechnology department," Alex said.

Pete hesitated to share that this was the reason he was here. Instead, he went with, "You don't say," and called the waiter over claiming he was famished. At least he was being honest about that.

"The professor in charge over there said he would look into it, but I haven't heard back from him. I think it was one of their nanobots that went astray in downtown Boston," Alex laughed not dropping the subject.

"Yeah, maybe he was spying on you," Pete blurted out.

"No, that would be illegal," she said thinking this was banter.

"Yeah right," Pete said wondering if HG had ever given that any thought. Probably not.

* * *

"Oh no, no, no. There must be some mistake. We booked two rooms; two very separate rooms," Helena was explaining to the desk clerk who punched the keys on the computer.

"I'm sorry Miss Wells, but whoever made the reservation booked one room. Let me see what I can do," the clerk said because it was obvious his guest was not pleased. "I'm sure we can find you …..," he said, but as he checked the availability it seemed there was nothing left. "I'm sorry Miss Wells, but with the convention in town this week, everything is booked solid," he said sheepishly. The stare that came back at him across the desk was enough to make him feel unsettled.

"_One night, Helena, one night_," HG murmured to herself with her eyes closed. "Very well," she said putting her hand out for the card.

"Room 614," the clerk said and handed it to her. She grabbed the small overnight bag and headed to the elevators.

Helena opened the door to the room with the king size bed. 'Oh bloody hell,' she said out loud because this presented the next problem. Well, perhaps Pete could stay with his lady friend, she thought seeking an immediate solution. She threw her bag on the bed, sat at the desk, and called Myka. It was seven o'clock in Boston, six pm for Myka. HG broke out into a smile when Myka's image appeared on the device's screen.

"Hello darling," HG said.

"Are you all settled in, Helena?" Myka asked making out that she was inside her hotel room.

"Oh yes indeed," HG said and then added, "Although oddly enough, they only had one room reserved for us."

"Really?" Myka asked, unsure of who made the arrangements now.

"Yes, but I believe Pete will be more than happy to stay at his friend Alex's abode I am sure," HG laughed.

"What are you going to do now?" Myka asked concerned that HG was lonely.

"I am going to sink into a hot bath, have dinner, and call you back," Helena reported.

"Don't you want to see any of the sites?" Myka asked wishing she was there to take HG around.

"I dare say I have taken in enough of the colonies' _finest moments_ for one day," Helena said and Myka smiled sympathetically.

"And things with Pete are…..?" Myka couldn't help but ask.

"You needn't worry. It would seem our Mr. Lattimer has a new persona when he is in love, a rather mature one in fact," HG said nodding her head.

"Oh good, good," Myka said relieved.

"How are things at the Warehouse?" HG inquired.

"Good, the usual. The Warehouse was expanding this morning, so we spent most of the time running up and down aisles making sure nothing had toppled over," Myka said.

"Oh Artie does detest expansions," HG said.

"Speaking of that, you named that robot insect of yours after him, didn't you," Myka asked and watched for the slightest change of expression in HG's face.

"Why Myka Bering! Are you accusing me of taking my boss' name in vain? And simply because his annoying habits of following me, pestering me and my inability to swat him reminded me of the fly?" HG said guilty as hell.

"You need to work on that innocent look, Helena George," Myka teased.

"I will, after my bath and dinner," HG said.

* * *

She closed the Farnsworth and put it away. She was so tired and the bed looked so tempting, but she pushed herself to draw the bath water and undress. She laid the Tesla down on the bed and covered it with her clothes. She went for her phone, but couldn't find it. Hearing the water filing up the tub inside, she decided she would text Pete after she got out and encourage him to find accommodations elsewhere for the night.

At that very moment, things were moving along nicely, and Pete was also thinking about spending the night with Alex.

'_Hmm, I do like rosewater_,' Helena mused dripping the contents of the bottle into the bath. She let her body slip under the warm water and she put her head back on the rolled up towel. Her thoughts wandered to what a different trip this would be if Myka had come with her. Helena closed her eyes and drifted off. Several moments later, sounds from the outside room woke her and she realized she had not brought anything in with her. She stepped out of the water, wrapped a large soft towel around her torso, and got ready to explain to Pete that she was sorry his date didn't work out, but there was no way in hell he was staying there.

Helena swung open the door, stepped into the bedroom and announced; "There has been a mistake and there is no way in hell you're staying."

HG froze. The man sitting in the chair near the bed wasn't Pete, nor was the other man standing behind him.

"Agent Wells?" Damien White said calmly.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Helena asked trying to figure out how to get to her Tesla. It was under her clothes that were piled on the bed.

"I do beg your pardon for the intrusion. My name is Damien White," he said calmly as HG started to walk slowly across the room to the bed.

"Professor White? Do you have a habit of breaking into women's rooms uninvited?" HG asked trying to smile.

"Only when I want answers and time is of the essence," he said truthfully.

"While I appreciate your anxiousness to meet, I would hope you'd have the decency to allow me to get dressed, Professor," HG said calmly.

"Actually Agent Wells, I prefer you like this," the professor said and Ted stood ready to move.

"We have a meeting for tomorrow morning," HG said trying to stall and weigh her options. Ted had an athletic build and HG was certain he could reach the bed before she did.

Damien White put his briefcase on the bed and opened it. "I couldn't wait to hear what you had to say," he said.

"Well, actually Professor White, I have very little to say," HG smiled trying to appear friendly.

"I was afraid of that," Damien said and retrieved the gun from his briefcase. "This is exactly why I have to shoot you, Agent Wells."

Helena reacted quickly, making a move toward the bed and her weapon, but it only shortened the distance between her and her assailant. He calmly aimed the gun, pulled the trigger, and struck Helena in her exposed skin, right above her heart.

Pain seared in her body as she slowly dropped to the floor, fading into blackness.

Ted moved quickly to catch her before she hit the floor. He picked Helena's motionless body up in his arms. "Where do you want her?" he asked his boss.

"Put her on the bed and turn her over so that I can attach the device to the base of her skull," Damien ordered.

"She looks like she will put up a pretty good fight when she wakes up," Ted remarked of the lifeless body.

"Ted, when she wakes up, Agent Wells will be paralyzed," Damien said nonchalantly as he readied the device.

* * *

**As always, thank you for reading along and posting comments, questions, thoughts.**  
**My apologies for writing Myka 'out of character' in the last chapter - totally a reaction to episode 15.**  
**And if I could, I would rename the villain Jack Kenny.**


	5. To Tell the Truth

**Thanks to Xenite for telling me Jaime said HG's middle name was **_**George**_**. I took the liberty of making HG's father's name that as well (even though it was Joseph). **

**Many thanks to ****MiDushiNoSushi who pointed out that this experience would remind HG of being bronzed. Excellent point.**

**And thank you to those who are reading along. **

**I borrowed some of HG's lines right from the show. **

* * *

** Chapter Five To Tell the Truth  
**

"**Genius always finds itself a century too early." ****Ralph Waldo Emerson**

* * *

While his partner lay unconscious, Pete was having a wonderful time with Alex. They laughed over old stories and enjoyed their meals. The conversation got serious when he told her about his drinking problem and how he'd be sober since 2001. She told him about her divorce after finding out her husband had an affair. The heartaches were soothed over by Pete's antics, which included sticking bread sticks in his upper lip and talking like a vampire. 'I vant to suck your blood,' he said. Alex's laugh made him feel good – really good. He got spaghetti sauce on his face, and she reached over with her napkin to wipe it off. He smelled the perfume on her wrist and pulled her hand in to kiss it. _God, that is nice perfume_, he thought as he inhaled the pleasantness of it. Alex smiled and allowed her hand to rest on his jaw and let her finger run along the cleft in his chin. _He is so good looking_, Alex mused.

Unbeknownst to Pete, the pheromones in the perfume that were arousing his senses at the moment, were interfering with his vibes – and the more he drank in Alex's scent, the less effective his own sensors were about HG.

* * *

Helena had noticed immediately the peculiar sound the gun aimed at her made, as if there were a silencer on it. The slender projectile hit her in the chest, right above her heart where the towel wrapped around her. Instantly, she could feel two strong hands on her and she attempted to struggle, but felt as if she was wrapped in something that refused to let her move. As soon as her eyes flew open, she tried to get up, but nothing happened. She was lying on the bed, her head supported by a pillow, but she had no recollection of how she got there. Her head was the only part of her that moved, and she immediately glanced down to see what state of dress she was in. The towel was still wrapped around her, and a sheet had been pulled up over her. She stared at her limbs imploring them to move.

"Agent Wells, welcome back. I'm sure you're trying to figure out what happened," Damien said with an uneasy calmness. He sat in the chair next to the bed, but his suit jacket was off and his sleeves were rolled up, as if he had been busy working on something. Helena glared and strained, but her body was lifeless. She started to feel panic rising inside because the immobility brought back the feelings of being bronzed. Damien noticed the fear in her eyes.

"Not to worry my dear, the paralysis is temporary, but necessary so that we could attach the device to you. It's right here," he said gently putting his hand at the base of Helena's skull. She could feel the pressure of something when he pushed against the device.

"We're not going to harm you," he assured her misreading her panic for fear that she would be assaulted. "I need information. I'd like to know how an IRS Agent came up with a device as advanced as the one I saw in my office," he said, as if that explained why she lay there attached to a tiny machine.

"You can speak, you know," Damien said as if she was part of a laboratory experiment. In many ways, she was. He had only tried the device out on a dozen people, all of them lab associates. Of course, he didn't have to shoot them with a neuromuscular blocker first because they volunteered. In the trials, each subject without fail had revealed personal details when connected to the device and drugged.

Damien started his questions with; "Who are you, Agent Wells?"

Helena turned to look directly at the doctor. "I assure you, you don't want to know who I am. I count six ways I could kill you right now. The only reason you're still drawing breath is because I am trying so hard not to do that sort of thing anymore," Helena spat at him.

"Yes of course. I suspect you are in a specialized branch of the IRS then?" her assailant said as if taking down her biography.

"I admire her spirit considering she can't move," Ted said, but no one paid attention.

Helena tried to take in how much time had passed. Maybe Pete would be on his way. "What the bloody hell do you want from me?" HG said clenching her jaw.

"Oh just the truth, Agent Wells. The device attached to you neck is going to assure that you give it to me. You see, it's now injecting you with sodium pentothal and chloral hydrate, plus a couple of other special drugs we've made in the lab," Damien explained. "In a minute, you will become extremely cooperative."

"The hell I will," HG said.

"It's like truth serum on speed," Ted explained. "You won't really have a choice."

Helena's mind raced to figure out how she would stop the gates of information flowing if the device worked. She tried repeating standard information that any agent would give in a hostile interrogation.

"I need to establish some parameters, Agent Wells, so I will start with some basics to make sure we're giving you the proper dose. Wouldn't want to give you too much," Damien said, staring at Helena. His tone told her that would not be a good thing.

It occurred to HG that she would simply not answer, but the calming effect of the drug was weighing in and she was feeling very relaxed. The fear was gone from her eyes, the anger wiped from her face.

"Very good," Damien said when he noticed the difference. "What is your full name?" he asked.

"Helena George Wells," HG said in a low voice.

"_George_?" Ted asked.

"After my father," HG volunteered.

"Weird," Ted murmured and Damien waved him off.

"Where and when were you born," Damien asked. He had no way of knowing if this info was correct. That wasn't his purpose. He was monitoring how quickly Helena answered.

"Atlas House, 46 High Street, Bromley, Kent, England," HG said and Damien smiled.

"September 21st, 1866," she continued and all movement stopped in the room.

Ted frowned and looked at Damien who was staring at HG. She wasn't resisting giving the information, so how could she make something up?

"What year were you born?" Ted asked.

"1866," HG said.

Damien checked the amount of drugs that were being injected into her. He adjusted them slightly to increase the dose.

"What is your title?" Damien asked, expecting her government position as an _IRS Agent _to be the answer.

"I have been erroneously called the "_Father_ of Science Fiction," HG replied.

"Maybe she hit her head when she fell," Ted said, but he had caught her and knew that wasn't true.

"I wonder if we aren't tapping into a fantasy region of the brain," Damien wondered out loud.

"Really? You think of all the fantasies in the world, she would want to be HG Wells – a dude?" Ted asked because he was familiar with the genre.

"How old are you, Agent Wells?" Damien asked.

"One hundred and forty-seven, next September," HG answered without hesitation.

"This is crazy, doc," Ted said.

"Tell me about your device, Agent Wells," Damien asked, studying HG's face.

"I designed it myself," HG answered truthfully.

"Did you?" Damien prompted HG.

"Yes, I created the tiny processor and placed it inside a real fly," Helena said proudly.

"Simple, but ingenious," her captor said. "You wired the exoskeleton after applying a polymer?"

"Yes, I extracted the remains of the dead fly, processed it in formaldehyde, and used a polymer to strengthen the exoskeleton. I used carbon fibers to strengthen the body before installing the Nano chip inside," HG said as if she were reading a grocery list.

"Why did you build it?" Damien asked wondering if the government was using it in warfare.

"Because no one else did," HG answered.

"Did you get your ideas from my work?" Damien asked hoping that some part of his labor was her inspiration.

"I was not familiar with your work before yesterday, and I still have serious doubts that your device in the same league as mine," HG said because it was exactly what she believed.

Damien started at her, anger rising at the insult, but he didn't want to lose focus. "Where did you get your inspiration?"

Helena smiled at him. Rarely had she gotten so much time to talk about herself, and she was enjoying it. "When was the last time you read _The War of the Worlds_, Mr. White?"

"It's been some time," Damien said placating her.

"You mean the movie where the aliens are unstoppable until they are stopped by ….," Ted chimed in.

"Microorganisms," HG said answering where her inspiration came from.

The more specific Damien's questions became about the logistics, the more detailed Helena's answers were. She was spouting off calculations and components in a language that led Damien to believe she must have had her PhD in engineering. Damien became more and more suspicious of his captive. Even with the recorded information, he was not certain that his lab could duplicate what HG was telling him.

"It's the work of a genius," he said shaking his head.

"Yes it is," Helena replied because she was induced to tell the truth.

"How many of these did you make?" he asked HG.

"Two, the one that I sent to Boston and one more at the Warehouse," HG answered.

"Tell me Agent Wells, how is that the _Father of Science Fiction_ is a US Government IRS Agent?" the professor asked Helena. "Time travel?" he almost laughed when he asked.

"I was bronzed," Helena answered, and Ted threw his hands up in the air.

"What the hell is going on here, doc? Do we have what we need or what?"

Ted didn't understand half of what Helena was saying and was certain the drugs were inducing hallucinations. Damien wasn't so sure. He was beginning to suspect that he may have inadvertently uncovered something else besides the answer to his original question.

"Why don't you ask her important questions, like did she come alone? Who knows she's here? Why is the government building nanobots that look like flies?" Ted yelled out of frustration.

Helena turned to face the questioner. "I came here with my partner, Pete Lattimer, whom if I am not mistaken and I rarely am, is probably picking up a vibe about the situation in this room as we speak. Obviously, Agent Lattimer knows I am here, Myka Bering knows I am here, Mrs. Frederic, Artie – who by the way I named the insect after, knows I am here and Claudia, who is anxiously awaiting my return so that we can go over the design of my invention. The government is not building nanobots that look like flies. I am building them for use in our never-ending hunt for artifacts," HG informed the men.

Damien sat back in the cushioned chair. It was as if there was too much information for him to take in. He now had the design of the more extravagant nanobot insect, the device was not being used in the government, and there was only one of them left. His plan had been to extract the truth and set his captive free because she wouldn't remember any of this. Now he entertained the thought that the device was built by a genius, but why did that genius believe she was a science fiction writer? He ran his hands through his white hair and leaned forward.

He felt absolutely absurd for asking, but he went ahead anyway. "Are you HG Wells, the science fiction writer?"

"Yes, I am," HG said without hesitation.

"But he was a dude, man," Ted said worried that HG's partner could be on his way back.

"My brother Charles was the writer. I supplied the ideas, the research. Charles supplied the mustache," HG said smiling.

"So now your brother is HG Wells?" Ted asked out of exasperation.

"The world could not accept HG Wells was anything but a man," HG said. "A century ago, it was easier to believe in the possibility of a time machine than in the reality that a woman thought one up."

"Oh for crying out loud," Ted said and threw himself down in a chair. "Hey professor, I don't know what's going on here, but she said she had partner that could be walking in any minute."

"Yes, Agent Lattimer has a sixth sense about things and I expect that he would be breaking down that door any minute to apprehend both of you," HG said almost cheerfully.

Ted looked at the professor with a '_ya see'_ look on his face.

"She's at the maximum limit for the injection," Damien said out loud.

That usually meant the experiment was over. Damien had counted on getting the details, knocking her out again and when she woke up, not remembering anything. And since she wouldn't remember meeting him tonight, the original meeting for tomorrow would be kept, at which point he would either send her on her way, or have her meet with an unfortunate accident. This was getting more complicated.

"We have her design, can't we just go now?" Ted asked impatiently.

Damien considered his options. Helena's phone started beeping; someone would be looking for her. He opened the brief case, took out another drug filled dart, and placed it in the gun.

"Agent Wells, it has been an absolute pleasure to meet you," Damien said as he removed the device from her neck and gathered his things. "Can you move your arms now?"

Helena felt the numbness fading from her extremities. They felt like dead weights, but when she thought about it – they did move – slowly.

"Yes," she answered.

"Good. This is what is going to happen, Agent Wells," Damien said confident that his subject was not going to make any sudden moves. Ted wasn't so sure. He put his hand on the gun strapped to his shoulder.

"You are slowly going to regain the feeling back. You're not going to remember any of this because I'm going to reinject you," he said matter of factly.

Helena tried to figure out if she was in danger as the medication levels started to decrease. Part of her brain told her she was alone in a hotel room with two strangers and so she must be in trouble, but the drugs made things fuzzy and nothing in her sympathetic nervous system was registering a threat.

Helena looked at him like trying to gather information, but it wasn't coming through.

"You are going to keep that appointment with me tomorrow, Agent Wells, because you won't remember meeting me here tonight," Damien explained.

The beeping of the phone reminded Damien that his time was up. He jerked his head towards HG and Ted came closer and held her arms down. Now Helena understood she was in danger. She pushed back against him, but Damien had the dart gun pressed against her skin.

"Pleasant dreams, Agent Wells," he said as he pulled the trigger. The tiny drug filled object pierced Helena's white skin, and instantly she felt the effects and lost the battle to stay conscious. Her body went limp and Ted finally released her arms.

"She won't remember any of this?" he asked suspiciously.

"No, the only drug effect Agent Wells will have is the sodium pentothal cocktail for the next few hours," Damien said.

"Meaning?" Ted asked because he didn't want to have to shoot such a beautiful woman.

"Meaning Agent Wells is about to tell the world the absolute truth about anything. Including the fact that she believes she's HG Wells. Now, what do you think will happen to her if she does?" Damien asked.

"She'll get her own reality TV show?" Ted asked.

"Not before the authorities lock her up for being insane," Damien said patting HG's head.

* * *

Back at table where pupils were dilating and blood pressure was increasing, Alex took off her high heel and rubbed her foot along Pete's calf. He swallowed hard and his voice cracked when he hurriedly waved the waiter to bring the check.

"Why don't we go back to your hotel room," Alex suggested because it was closer than her apartment.

He reached for his wallet, insisting on paying and grabbed a credit card. His phone was vibrating, but he didn't really feel like interrupting what was going on.

"Let me just run to the ladies room," Alex said. Pete took that moment to look at his phone.

"_Can't find Helena_. _Where is she_?" Myka had texted.

"_At hotel_," Pete typed quickly. This was not the night he wanted to babysit HG.

"_She's not answering her phone_," Myka typed furiously.

"_I'm heading back now. I'll check on her – promise_," Pete said.

* * *

Myka trusted that Pete would do just that, but it didn't stop her from pacing the hallway at the B&B. She had spoken to Helena hours ago. She was going to call Myka back after her bath. '_She could have fallen asleep_,' Myka tried for the first hour. '_Maybe she decided to go out_,' she then tried.

It was not like Helena to say she would call and then not. No, something was wrong.

Then Myka reminded herself that Helena was a highly trained Warehouse Agent – with many skill sets that could help get her out of any trouble. Still, Myka couldn't help the pounding in her chest and the gut feeling that something was off.

She felt better after texting Pete. "_He would know if anything was really wrong_," she consoled herself. Then she dialed Helena's phone again. '_Pick up, Helena, please pick up_.'

* * *

Many thanks for your comments and thoughts. As you can see, I listen and adjust accordingly - so thank you for that.


	6. Along Came a Spider

**You guys are so in tuned to these characters, that I always benefit from your questions and feedback. They make me think and rethink and I appreciate that.**

**The real canon keeps sidetracking me - so to compensate for that - I've taken some of the lines directly from the show - not to plagiarize (much) but to keep the characters here - in sync. **

* * *

**Chapter Six **_**Along Came a Spider**_

"**The Truth is always exciting. Speak it, then. Life is dull without it." Pearl S. Buck**

Pete and Alex hurried along the avenue to the hotel. He checked in and practically grabbed the card for Room 614 out of the clerk's hand. Their libidos were on overdrive as Alex pushed Pete against the wall of the elevator. '_Check on HG_,' was going off in his brain, but it was getting lost in the flames of passion. Checking on her right now would mean he'd have to explain he was there with a partner, a female partner, and Alex's tongue was in his ear. Suddenly however, and much to Alex's dismay, Pete gently pushed her back away and stared at the floor - his vibes were coming back on line. "Something's wrong," he said and of course, she thought he meant with them. "No, this is so right," Alex tried to persuade him back to the moment, but Pete was tuning into the information that was bottlenecked when the pheromones affected him.

* * *

Myka didn't have Pete's gift of vibes, but she had something even more powerful. When Helena didn't text back, Myka found it odd. When she didn't answer her phone, she worried. And when the feeling in her stomach worsened, she knew Helena was in danger. She told Claudia she was going, and the youth booked them both flights on the next plane to Boston. They wouldn't arrive until two in the morning, but they were on their way.

* * *

Pete was rushing to his room with Alex closely behind, uncertain still of what had changed his mood so quickly. "It's my partner, something is wrong," he said pushing the card into the door. He assumed Helena was in another room and tried texting her phone. When he heard the beeping in the next room, he went inside to find HG in bed.

"_That_ is your partner?" Alex asked, a little taken aback by the beautiful woman appareled in only a towel asleep in his bed. "Do you two _always_ share a room?'

"No, I don't know why she's in my room, but….," Pete was saying. His vibes were still pushing up through his skin and yet, to look at how peacefully HG was sleeping, you'd never know there was a problem.

"She looks fine to me," Alex said now annoyed at her presence.

His phone rang. It was Myka. "Yeah, I'm with her now. She's sleeping though. I mean, she looks okay," Pete said slowing bending down to stare at his unconscious fellow agent. "I don't think you need to come, I mean ….," he started and then saw the distinct markings on HG's chest. "Yeah, Mykes maybe you better come," he said not wanting to panic Myka. "What? No, she looks fine, but you know how she gets _really_ cranky when she wakes up and you're not here. Yeah funny thing about that - them only giving us one room," Pete said trying to figure out what the double intrusion on HG's chest was.

He and Myka disconnected, both understanding he was not telling her the truth. It simply confirmed for Myka that she had to go. It would be the longest flight of her life.

"So who was that?" Alex asked still wondering why a half-naked woman was in Pete's bed.

"That was Myka, my other partner. This is Helena, and I think someone was in here with her," Pete said looking around.

"Maybe she got lucky at the bar," Alex tried to point out.

"The only one she gets lucky with is ….no, not Helena. She's not that kind of woman," Pete said. "She also doesn't sleep well," he added realizing that HG had not been disturbed by their presence.

Pete put his face practically on top of Helena's to check her breathing. The next thing he knew, and much to Alex's surprise, Helena had grabbed him by the back of his neck, threw him over on the bed, and subdued him by straddling his body. Instinct had taken over as soon as she entered a semi-conscious state and felt someone's breath on her. In spite of Pete's shock at being in a horizontal position, under a woman dressed in a towel, he was happy to see HG awake.

"Oh Pete, good to see you," HG said already aware there was a problem. "Where are we?"

"Helena, you're okay? You feel okay? You have two marks on your boobies," Pete said and then realized he had chosen the wrong word for the location. She smacked his hand when he went to point out the spots.

"Pete?" Alex said having a little trouble taking in the sight.

Pete jumped up, knocking HG back onto the bed. "Alex!" he said as if he just remembered she was there. "Alex, this is Helena. Helena, this is Alex," he made the introductions awkwardly. Helena looked up at the ceiling, not paying attention.

"Hi, I'm Alex Chase," the third wheel finally said extending her hand.

"The entomologist," HG said shaking it. "Helena," was all HG had time to say.

"Was someone in here?" Pete asked - just as Alex asked Pete; "Are you two somehow….." wondering out loud.

Helena, who was usually forthcoming with information, was now still feeling the effects of the truth serum and was programmed to answer questions in sequence.

"Yes I believe so, but I can't be sure yet. The markings on my chest would suggest that I was injected with something." Then she looked at Alex. "And although Pete and I kissed once, we are not romantically involved. I have on rare occasions fantasized about him…," HG offered and Pete's expression changed to one of raised eyebrows and full face grin. _He knew it! _"…but it usually involves some sort of adhesive tape over his mouth and a restraining device to keep him still and out of my hair," HG explained.

Alex put her hand to her mouth to stifle the laugh.

"Sure, let a guy _down easy_," Pete said and it jolted HG's memory. She remembered falling, and someone's hands holding her.

Helena went to her bag and pulled out her laptop and a small gadget that resembled the testing device diabetics use. She pressed her index finger down and waited. "It would seem that I was heavily drugged with the neuromuscular blocker Curare, as well as sodium pentothal," HG said, reading the results of her own device. This would explain the sluggish feeling in her muscles and fuzzy feeling.

"Who would do that? Wait - truth serum? I thought that didn't work. Let's get the hotel video tapes," Pete said all in one breath.

"We shall find out in a minute who it was. Yes, it works, but I don't have time to explain. I have something better than the hotel video tapes that would have been disabled if these people are worth anything," HG replied.

She was right. Ted was at the hotel earlier to jam security cameras from his laptop.

"Pete, why would someone do that? Who is she?" Alex asked softly.

"I don't know why they would do this yet. And I am HG Wells, _Inventor of Time Travel_," HG answered on cue.

Pete waited for the punch line and when it didn't come, laughed nervously. "H…G….Wells," he chuckled as he grabbed HG's shoulders. "Time…travel….Helena, you joker you. Go get dressed," Pete ordered.

Giving Helena truth serum was like adding petroleum to the flames of truth. Helena grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom.

"Myka is on her way," Pete yelled through the door.

"I expected as much," HG answered. "I will be glad to see her. I do love Myka."

Pete turned to see the unpleasant expression on Alex's face. "Pete, what is going on here?"

"Well, HG and Myka are ….. Oh, you mean with ….I don't know exactly. HG, what is going on here?" Pete asked. Helena swung open the door, fully dressed now.

"Let's find out, shall we?" HG said as she tapped on the keys to her laptop and put her left hand out. Pete looked at the empty hand, wondering if HG wanted a high five. Then suddenly, they saw a spider come down from the ceiling and land in her hand.

Alex watched in amazement, as the animated creature followed the path and landed. "That's the second animated insect I've seen," she said.

"Alex was the one who gave the fly to that professor at Harvard," Pete said and the title jogged HG's memory. _Professor _sounded very familiar to her.

"Did she?" HG asked thinking she would deal with that later.

"Wait, this is yours?" Alex asked as data from the tiny creature was downloading to the computer.

"Indeed," HG said and pressed the audio.

The voices came over the speaker. Muffled at first, there were two male voices. HG turned it up to listen – they were talking to someone. Then HG heard her own voice. These were the men in her room.

"That's Professor White," Alex said recognizing the voice.

"You said that thing didn't record anything," Pete said, remembering where the first one of these had been.

"I said it did not transmit visually. This one however…..," HG said pressing more keys.

"Maybe Alex should…," Pete said worried that HG was forgetting that she was there.

"No, I believe Dr. Chase might be of some use to me," HG said and of course, meant it. If she recognized his voice, perhaps there was more she could tell her about Dr. White.

The image suddenly appeared on the screen. It was a view of the room from the vantage point of the arachnid high above the bed. It gave a clear picture of the two men and Helena. There - frame after frame was what had transpired. Now she knew what happened and how, but she wasn't entirely sure why.

"Hey, they asked you if you had any more of these and you said one more at the Warehouse," Pete pointed out. "I thought you couldn't lie?"

"Care to explain, Dr. Chase? HG asked trying to make the woman useful.

"Uhm…it's a common misperception that spiders are insects. They are from the same Phylum; Anthropoda, they differ in Class. They are in the Arachnida class. They are largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms," Alex explained.

Pete just looked at her and thought; "_Great. Another woman in my life who can spit out facts unrelated to sports!"_

"Maybe he was threatened by your invention?" Alex asked. "The announcement of his just came out last week, and the press made a pretty big deal about it."

"So White is threatened by finding out HG has a similar insect-bot?" Pete asked.

"Not _similar_, Mr. Lattimer, _superio_r," HG answered truthfully. Pete looked at Alex – "Modesty is not her strong suit even without the drugs," he laughed uncomfortably.

"Did you ever hear what his plans were?" Pete asked, going into investigative mode.

"Well, there was speculation that he was working on government contracts and maybe some biomedical interest groups," Alex said, repeating the lab talk she heard.

"That might mean a lot of money, right? Hey, HG maybe the idea that your thing was better made him do all this?" Pete suggested.

"Yes, but remember Pete, our friend Professor White got to me because he has friends in high places. They could probably guarantee him favoritism I'm sure," HG said. She put the spider down on the desk and started typing into the laptop. "Let's see where our intruders took off to," she said as she brought up another screen.

"You had a third little _Artie_?" Pete asked, thinking Helena hard an arsenal of insects.

"No, this transmission is coming from a beetle named _Pete_," HG said answering the question.

"You name them?" Alex asked.

"Piezoelectric effect tracer elite," HG answered – spelling out the acronym.

"Because you saw how strong and tough beetles are?" Pete asked and shouldn't have.

"Because of how they eat anything," Helena answered.

The image that came up on the screen was a view from the window ledge. Helena pressed some keys and the image changed as the insect took flight to a higher place. Now the professor's office was in view.

"How did you get it in there?" Alex asked.

"When the professor and his goon were subduing me, they disturbed my clothes that were piled on the bed. They activated the beetle that was placed on top, and it attached itself to the article of clothing that did not have my scent on it, meaning the professor's jacket," HG explained.

They listened as Damien and Ted spoke.

* * *

"What now?" Ted asked, tired from the night's activities.

"We give the specs to the lab when they get in and see what they can make of our brilliant agent's design. She said she only had one more at the Warehouse," he said.

"Technically, that's true," HG said.

"And then?" Ted prompted.

"Then we meet her at nine o'clock and decide what to do with her. She won't remember anything from tonight, so there will be no surprises," Damien said confidently.

"Oh you could not be more wrong, Professor White," HG said tapping the screen.

"Why would he do that?" Alex asked shocked that her colleague was so sinister. "I'm sorry …," she stammered. "If it weren't for me…," she started, but Pete stopped her.

"No, it's not your fault. How would you know what to do when you caught that fly…._that had no business being in our room_….," Pete emphasized because he wasn't done talking to HG about that. She would have looked guilty if she had the time.

"Dr. Chase indeed has a hand in this," HG said truthfully. "But it is Myka I am more concerned about. She is not to see this video when she arrives, or I am afraid of what she will do," HG said.

* * *

Actually – Helena had every right to be concerned because as she spoke, her lover was thirty thousand miles above Detroit, Michigan, and she was making concise and thorough mental notes on what she would do to _anyone_ who had laid a hand on Helena.

They watched as Ted and the professor took their leave after agreeing to meet back at the office at six.

"White is mine," HG said to no one in particular.

"Hey, no killing! Myka will be super pissed," Pete reminded HG. "And Mrs. Frederic will so bring that up in your review."

Damien White didn't know it yet, but HG Wells was not his biggest threat.

* * *

**Many thanks for reading along. As always - I appreciate you taking the time to post any thoughts. **


	7. Hell Hath No Fury

**Chapter Seven Hell Hath No Fury **

**"I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done." Lucille Ball **

* * *

Myka Bering was not one to flash her badge unless it was absolutely necessary or within standard guidelines. Oh - or when she was teetering on the edge of losing it because she had no information about Helena other than the constant message that the pains in her chest kept sending her.

"_Helena is in danger, I just feel it_," she said more than once to a sympathetic Claudia. The young agent felt bad that she didn't have some intuitive sense like Pete or Myka because she didn't know how else to help. Mrs. Frederic was always stressing to her that she should _go with her strengths_. She opened her laptop on the tray in front of her and plugged in the wireless device that connected her to the Warehouse frequency. Now it wouldn't interfere with the cockpit apparatus.

"If HG used her computer in the last few hours, I might be able to haaa…..you know, peek around, and see if there was anything….," Claudia said carefully.

"Do it," Myka said. Ordinarily she would never agree to invade anyone's privacy.

Streams of data and code filled the screen as Myka kept a careful eye out for the flight attendant. "Got it," Claudia said because she could tell from the encryption, there was something there. "Oh my God," Claudia whispered. "HG's got a camera in a spider!" she said enthusiastically. But the tone changed when they started to see the playback of what had taken place in HG's room.

"Who are they?" Myka said and the tone was so cold that Claudia stuttered her response; "I… I ….don't know." She could feel Myka's body stiffen and she wasn't sure she was breathing. "I'm sure Pete….," Claudia said, but nothing was going to soothe Myka's ferocity at seeing HG drugged, subdued, and interrogated.

* * *

Now that Pete and HG knew the suspects had gone home for the night, there was little to do but wait. Suddenly, the three became aware of the confines of one bedroom.

"Perhaps you should see Dr. Chase home," HG said and meant, _and stay there_.

"No, I'm not leaving you," Pete declared and both women looked at him. "I mean, suppose that goon comes back," he explained.

"Pete's right," Alex said. "As much as I would like to….," she said to Pete conveying that she would miss him.

"Righty-o then," HG said and withdrew into the bathroom to give them a moment alone.

"I'm sorry about this," Pete said as he walked Alex to the door. "Will you be okay going home?"

She could see Pete was torn about wanting to come with her, but wanting to do right by his partner. That was Pete Lattimer for you, she thought, always doing the right thing.

"I'll be fine. I'll text you as soon as I get in," Alex promised and kissed him gently and fully on the mouth. It might have lasted a lot longer, if they didn't hear the bathroom door open. Pete closed the door slowly.

* * *

"I am sorry your night has been spoiled," HG said to him. Pete smiled at the fact that she was really thinking of him. So often he felt there was no room in HG's world for anyone else but Myka.

"Not a problem," he said. "You're my partner."

Such a simple phrase and yet, it hit HG spot on. For as long as she had worked with Pete, she realized now that she always thought of him as '_Myka's former partner'_ - never her own.

"Indeed we are, Mr. Lattimer, indeed we are," the Brit concurred. Helena sat down at the laptop and took the spider bot out.

"What did you name this one?" he asked.

"_Claudia_," she said truthfully.

"So _Artie_ was in my room, but didn't record anything?" Pete asked laughing nervously.

"I didn't say it didn't record _anything_," HG said arching an eyebrow. She didn't really want to say that, but it came out anyway.

"Oh wait; you're still feeling the effects of the truth serum!" Pete declared, knowing HG couldn't lie if she was.

"Yes," HG said.

Pete wrung his hands wondering what did he wish to tap into first.

"So did you hear anything from that intrusion?" he asked and HG bit her lip. It wasn't working – the woman always had an answer ready and now she was on fast forward.

"Yes," she blurted out.

"Oh God, HG! You heard us …," Pete asked in horror.

"Yes," HG said casting her eyes away.

"Oh for crying out loud, Helena!" Pete said without thinking. He never called her by her first name and now he used the same tone Myka used when she was annoyed at HG.

"You sound just like …," HG said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm becoming Myka, Myka is probably going to turn into you, and you're …..." Pete said tripping himself up.

"I'm HG Wells, the Father of Science Fiction, Inventor of Time Travel," HG answered candidly – again.

"Yeah HG – it doesn't matter cause you can't go around inventing things to snoop on people," Pete said getting back to his point.

"I wasn't snooping. I was testing the flybot out for aerodynamic lifts and landings. That it recorded your lovemaking was …," HG tried but Pete had his fingers in his ears and was singing "La la lal lal la la la," until he saw her lips not moving.

"Not to worry, Pete. I can give you some excellent pointers if you …," HG started, but again was rebuked with Pete's singing.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" Pete said, indicating he would stand guard.

"Myka will be landing," HG said.

"I know, but you can rest until she lands. You know she'll call you right away," Pete assured her. It was perhaps the first time since they knew each other that Helena did not brush Pete's suggestions aside and let him take the lead.

"I am ever so tired," HG confessed, still feeling the aftermath of being drugged.

"OK then, into bed with you," Pete said and ushered her to the bed. He pulled back the covers and when he saw her hesitate, he nodded in the direction of the pillow. "I'll wake you as soon as I hear from Myka," he promised.

"I don't think I'll actually sleep," HG said because that's what she believed, but her eyes closed as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Pete smiled, shook his head, and pulled the covers up over her. He rarely saw Helena this peaceful, and he stood there, looking down at her. They had been through a lot together – and having this moment alone with HG, made him realize how much he did care about her. He pulled the oversize chair nearer to the bed and sat down. He checked his phone, but no text from Alex yet. He fought the sleep that crowded his head, but within minutes, he lost that fight.

* * *

When the tires touched the ground in Boston, Myka shot up from here seat, yelled out "_Secret Service stay in your seats_," and went up the aisle like a bullet. The flight attendant attempted to get Myka to return to her seat until they were done taxiing. Uncharacteristically, Myka leaned into the woman and said; "_Lady, you don't want to mess with me._" Even Claudia looked twice to make sure it wasn't HG standing there. The woman looked at Myka's badge and ID and accepted the explanation that they were on assignment and had to get off first. "Please let us attach to the docking bay," was all the nervous woman asked.

Myka whipped her phone out and called Pete. In a hush tone, and a very sleepy voice, he told her everything was okay and that HG was sleeping. He knew the drugs were still in her system because she hadn't stirred when Myka called. Claudia texted Pete in the cab that Myka had seen the video and that was enough to wipe any sleep from his system. Myka was the levelheaded one; the logical thinker of the group. She was always a step ahead of the team because she was carefully thinking things through. The one exception to that rule was Helena. When Myka thought HG was in danger or someone hurt her, Pete knew grizzly bears had nothing on her. She morphed into someone else – as if Myka's dark side came out. Fortunately, Pete thought, even the dark side of Myka was better than most people he knew. Still, she could be fierce.

Within the hour, Myka was racing down the hotel hallway and through the door that Pete knew better be open for her when she arrived. HG had slept through it all – and from all signs – serenely. Myka rushed to her side, both relieved to finally see her, and concerned about what had happened. She put her arm behind Helena's head and pulled her to her, kissing her forehead.

"I'm here now, sweetie," Myka whispered. She didn't want to wake HG up, but she was anxious to hear her say she was ok.

Myka gently laid HG back down and removed her arm. Claudia was the first to see it – and gasped. There on Myka's sleeve were small blood stains. She put her fingers back under Helena's neck and felt the wet warm distinct feeling. Helena was bleeding from where the device had been attached to her. It wasn't a lot of blood, but the thought that someone had done this to her made anger erupt in Myka.

"Who is this bastard and where is he?" she said in a low growl.

"Myka, we know who he is and we'll get him, but we need a plan," Pete said trying to calm Myka down.

"What do we think is happening?" Claudia asked setting up her laptop to jump in.

"We're not sure why he went to this length to get at HG and why he's so obsessed with her invention. We thought maybe government contracts or funding?" Pete offered.

Claudia was already typing away with whatever information Pete gave her. Her fingers moved at lightning speed as she craftily moved through firewalls undetected.

"Why would a professor at Harvard be emailing someone in Yemen?" she asked as she scoured the professor's email box – the private one with several layers of security that, according to Damien's top security adviser Ted, was impenetrable.

"He's not going to sell his invention to the US, he's going to sell it to terrorists," Pete said.

"HG's going to meet with him tomorrow right?" Claudia asked.

"Not alone she's not," Myka said.

"We've got to let that happen so that Pete and I can get more Intel on what he plans to do," Claudia said.

Myka nodded her head in agreement. They were right – it was best to have a plan. She put her hand on Helena's forehead and caressed her face.

"OK, but after we get him, I want five minutes alone with him," Myka said in a tone that even Pete never heard before.

* * *

"Come on, Dr. Chase, don't give me any trouble. The professor is already short on patience," Ted said as he put tape over Alex's mouth.

* * *

**Many thanks for reading along. Always appreciate your thoughts, comments and questions because I know they take time. **  
**Many of you knew Myka would react this way - so hope this wasn't too predictable. **


	8. Sometimes the Truth Hurts

**Many thanks to everyone for reading and posting – esp Xenite who taught me to choose my quotes wisely.**

* * *

** Chapter Eight Sometimes the Truth Hurts **

"**The secret to being boring is to say everything." Voltaire.**

* * *

Ted was none too gentle when he pushed Alex into his car and drove her to Damien's house. "Take it easy, would you?" he asked her. Fighting back was hampered by her high heels and the tape that restrained her wrists, but she swore if she could just get her leg near him, her military training would help. Ted was larger and easily restrained her as he took her to the house. He pushed her into a chair and placed the tape around her upper body and then her legs. When she tried to kick him and got part of his ankle, he got mad. He removed the tape from her mouth roughly. "Scream all you want, no one will hear you," he said sinisterly.

The most shocking thing to her of all was the sight of her colleague walking into the room like they were there for a meeting.

"Damien? What the hell is going on?" she said to him.

"I know, Dr. Chase. I do apologize if Ted was a little too aggressive. He's tired and he's been quite busy tonight," Damien said.

"And I am here because?" Alex asked straining against her restraints.

"Because Ted here tells me that you're fraternizing with the people who are really getting on my nerves," Damien said sitting down at his desk.

"So you don't like who I associate with at work and you're dragging me here to discuss it?" Alex asked.

"Don't play dumb, Alex, it's unbecoming," Damien said, rubbing his eyes. "You were with two IRS Agents tonight. I need information about them. "

"I was on a date with an old friend," Alex said.

"Yes, well that old friend is partners with a woman who could destroy what I've been working on for years," Damien said angrily.

"OK, so you think that's what we talked about over dinner?" Alex asked.

"No, I think you talked about old times over dinner. Then I think the two of you went back to the hotel for a nightcap. What I don't know is why you were in the same room as the woman whom Ted and I questioned earlier?" Damien yelled.

"There was a mix up with their rooms. Believe me, it was not what I had planned," Alex said innocently.

"Alex, you brought me a fly a week ago that was created by the woman whose room you were in before. I need to know if she talked about it," Damien said reaching into the desk drawer slowly.

"Yeah you know something; I was a little upset by her being there. A third can be a real buzz kill, unless you're into that kind of thing" Alex said annoyed.

"Buzz kill. That's funny cause you're an insect doctor," Ted laughed.

"I think maybe you talked about something else," Damien said producing the gun from his desk. The sight of it made Alex jump and retreat. "What the hell kind of gun is that?" she asked.

"The kind that will get me the truth," he said. Ted pulled her jacket off her shoulder to expose her skin above the dress. Damien took aim and the dart hit dead center.

"What the hell is that?" Alex asked.

"Neuromuscular blocker. Now this little device is going to help you tell me what I need to know," Damien explained as he attached the device to the base of her skull. He hadn't waited for the first drug to take full effect and so Alex yelled when he pushed the needles into her neck.

"Sonovabitch," she said as the spikes broker her skin.

"Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry," Damien said. With minutes, the combination of drugs was streaming into Alex's bloodstream.

Damien asked Alex a few questions to gauge her quickly she would answer. "Very good, now Dr. Chase, who were you with tonight?" he started.

Alex answered the questions truthfully, the panic feeling having left her now from the drugs. She explained she and Pete were in the same division in the Marines and had recently reconnected. He hurried her through the part where she said she had always liked him and now that they were back together, she hoped their friendship could be more.

"Who is the woman that is with Agent Lattimer?" Damien asked.

"His partner. She's very beautiful," Alex added.

"Yeah, she really is," Ted concurred mostly out of boredom. Damien shot him a look.

"Did your friends tell you about the device she built," he asked.

"Yes," Alex heard herself answer and tried to bite the inside of her cheek.

"Are there more?" Damien asked. He was trying to verify info that HG had given.

"Yes," his captive said, and he could see her military training attempting to usurp the effect of the drug. He knew she didn't want to answer. He simply increased the dosage and watched her lose the battle.

"How many more?" he asked and expected the answer to be _'one more in a warehouse'_.

"Three more," Alex said and Damien's eyes widened.

"That's impossible, doc," Ted said.

"Where are they?" Damien asked.

"One in the warehouse, one in the hotel room and one in your office," Alex said.

"What?" Damien yelled and looked at Ted.

"She's lying," Ted tried, forgetting the improbability of that at the moment.

"You, I don't like," Alex said to Ted. "And you asked her how many she invented of the fly and she answered you truthfully. There was a spider in the room recording what you did, and a beetle in your office. She named it _Pete,_" Alex said dreamily. "We watched the replay of what you did to Agent Wells, and now they're really upset with you. Did I tell you how much I like Pete? "

"Yes you did," Damien said surprised at this information. He was going to have to erase a lot of memories it seemed.

"She could have an army of them," Ted said.

"How is she doing this?" Damien asked out loud.

"Apparently, she's brilliant. Although for some reason, she thinks she's HG Wells," Alex said confused by that.

"She told you that?" Damien asked.

"Yes, when I asked why someone would want to do anything to her, who she was, she answered; I'm_ HG Wells, Inventor of Time Travel_," Alex said in a faux British accent.

"What!" Ted shouted. Damien waved him off to sit down.

"What do you make of that Doctor Chase?" Damien asked.

"How would I know? I study insects, not humans. But Pete did seem really nervous when she said that. Maybe she's really crazy and he was trying to protect her. He would do that, you know. Pete's a really good guy. Always looked out for his fellow marines. He was married then, but now he isn't. That's a really good thing," Alex said to no one in particular.

"Doc, could someone crazy build these machines?" Ted asked. The irony that he was talking to a deranged man who invented one was lost.

"Ted, we need to reschedule our 7 o'clock meeting," Damien said going back to his desk.

"Are you kidding? Those are not the kind of guys you just call up and switch appointments with, Doc," Ted said nervously.

"You tell our Mr. "JK" that if he can wait until ten o'clock, I will deliver something better than the nanobot," Damien said smiling slowly.

Ted could not figure it out. "You're going to give him …" Ted jerked his head toward Alex.

"No, Ted. Not Doctor Chase. I'm going to give him HG Wells – inventor of Time Travel and these creative little insectbots," Damien said, formulating his plan as he spoke.

"Doc, that's kidnapping," Ted said, as if what he had already done didn't count.

"No Ted, _this_ is kidnapping. What we are going to do is call _fair trade_. JK gets someone who can mass produce his bots, and we get twenty million dollars," Damien said.

"Twenty? But he was giving us five?" Ted asked confused with the changes.

"Five was for my design," Damien laughed. "Now he's getting the woman who can make him a far _superior_ product. That will cost him more."

"But aren't you afraid she's a little coo coo in the head? I mean she told all of us she was HG Wells," Ted pointed out.

"I don't care if she thinks she's the Queen of England as long as she can build her little nanobots," Damien said.

"Oh," Ted said putting it together. He went off the other room to negotiate the new deal.

* * *

"Damien, what the hell are you doing?" Alex asked.

"What do you get paid Alex," he asked.

"One hundred thousand," she answered truthfully.

"What is your lab budget?" he asked.

"Ha – I fight for every nickel – about two hundred thousand. Not too much interest in insects, in spite of the fact that they out number us …" she tried.

"Yes, yes I know. My lab has a budget much higher of course, and yet our salaries are about the same. Does that seem fair to you?" Damien asked.

"Yes, actually it does because so often women are only paid…," Alex tried to share.

"Yes, yes – not the point, Alex. I'm not going to get rich by selling my hard work to the US Government with all the cutbacks and restrictions. So I went elsewhere. And now I will be rich," Damien explained, more out of excitement than wanting Alex to know.

"Elsewhere? Damien, you're not selling this to foreign governments. What if they use it against us? Damien, you can't give them that agent! That's kidnapping and human trafficking. You won't be rich, you'll be dead you fool," Alex said truthfully.

"You've got it all wrong, Dr. Chase. I thought I would have to sell my invention. Now I get to keep mine, sell the IRS Agent's and give them her. No one can trace it back to me. I get my money; I get contracts here and research money from the university. Then in a year, I retire and leave the development to someone else while I enjoy my retirement on an island somewhere," Damien summarized.

"Suppose whoever you give this to uses it against us? You won't be spending your retirement anywhere nice," Alex said.

"They're not going to attack us, Alex. "JK" has higher ambitions – he's going to sell to the various factions over there and let them fight each other," he said and then thought about it. "He is rather diabolical, I'll give you that." Damien White had never met a man who seemed more ruthless.

"Who is he?" Alex asked and because he figured she wasn't going to remember any of it anyway, he answered.

"JK is a former fraternity brother who -while we were becoming academics, became an arms dealer," he explained.

"You won't get away with this. There are more IRS Agents coming. Pete won't let you hurt his partner. He stayed with her before to protect her," Alex pointed out.

"Yes, and look at where you wound up? No, I think your lover boy will feel very guilty when he realizes he picked her over you," Damien said.

"You can't just take a person and not think they'll be missed, Damien," Alex stated because it was true.

"Don't worry, we'll work out that little detail later," Damien said. It did make him think he should start erasing his trail.

Ted came back in the room and said everything was arranged. The money had been agreed to only if they produced the inventor of the better nanobots. "I told him she could invent him some time travel while she was at it," Ted laughed, and added; "He didn't get it."

"Ted we need to get Alex's boyfriend here," Damien said.

"He's not my boyfriend, I mean I would like him to be, but we've been on two dates and part of one of them was with his partner so …. You know, nothing happened," Alex said. "Hey, he knows about you. He's too smart to just come over here. He told his partner not to kill you because it would upset Myka," Alex spilled.

"So Agent Wells was planning on killing me?" Damien smiled. "With what? A colony of honeybees?" he snickered and Ted joined him.

"It's grist_, a hive, or a swarm_, Doctor, not a colony," Alex said disgusted at the incorrect term.

"A grist of honeybees," Ted said laughing.

The image of a bunch of little bees struck the sleep deprived men funny.

* * *

The sting of a thousand bees was nothing compared to what someone was planning for Damien. Myka Bering was setting her Tesla to its highest setting – and wasn't planning on letting go of the trigger until payback was reached.

With Myka there to take care of HG, Pete focused his attention to the fact that he hadn't heard from Alex.

"Something's wrong," he finally said, all vibes kicking in now.

Usually Myka admired his phenomenal gift, but the thought that he somehow missed what was happening to Helena was burning inside of her.

"Now it's back? What the hell happened before, Lattimer?" she asked standing in front of him. Her tone and demeanor was nothing short of HG on a bad day.

"Myka!" Claudia said, because she knew there had to be a reason – a good reason – why Pete didn't pick up on this.

Pete had already been questioning himself about that. Myka's accusatory tone didn't help. "I don't know, Mykes. I feel bad, I do," Pete said.

Claudia stared at Myka the way parents do when they want their kid to apologize. Myka was torn between knowing it wasn't Pete's fault and wanting the men who did this to pay.

"Pete, I'm….," she started, but stopped when she heard HG call her.

"Myka?" HG said woozily from the bed. Myka was there in an instant. She knelt down on the side of the bed and took HG's hand.

"Yes Helena, I'm here," Myka said holding back the anger and tears that welled inside.

"I knew you would be, Myka," HG said unable to open her eyes all the way yet. "The drugs are almost out of my system," she added.

"Truth serum," Pete said and worried HG would say something to set Myka off.

"Myka, I have something to tell you," HG said, her voice raspy.

"Yes," Myka said, holding onto HG's hand.

"I love you, Myka Bering. I always have. From the moment I laid eyes on you in London, I knew I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life. My heart beats in my chest when I see you – even if it's across a room. And it aches when I am not with you even if it's for a short time. I want to have your children, Myka. I want to have a family and a house and I want to do all of that with you," HG said smiling.

Myka grabbed HG's hand and held it to her face, allowing a tear to run down her cheek.

"She's been saying a lot of stuff….," Pete said.

The only reference he had for this was when he was drunk years ago and would pour his heart out to a girl, only to forget it in the morning. He remembered the hurt that left, and he didn't want that to happen to Myka.

Pete didn't know it, but the sodium pentothal was the first drug that left her system before she woke up.

* * *

"I gotta go," he said to Claudia.

"Pete," Myka called after him. "I'm sorry."

"I know, Mykes. I am, too," Pete said.

"Where are you going?" Claudia asked making sure his cell was on her GPS app.

"I'll go to Alex's apartment first," Pete said. "Get me that professor's address, too. In case I have to pay him a visit."

Claudia promised to text it to him. Pete got a cab and gave him Alex's address. His phone beeped and he thought it was Claudia with the address.

"Hey driver, sorry pal. Could you take me to 722 Chestnut Lane instead?" Pete asked through the car's Plexiglas divider. The car turned around and headed to the new destination.

Pete looked down at the text which read: _Come to this address and pick up your girlfriend. She's unharmed and if you want to keep it that way, come alone, unarmed._

* * *

Myka helped HG get up from the bed. She looked at the back of Helena's neck and saw the four small cuts where the device had pierced her. She rubbed HG's back gently.

"Some men were here," HG said, wondering which part to tell Myka.

"We saw the video, Helena," Myka said.

"Pete?" HG asked, and then smiled. "You hacked into my computer, didn't you Claudia," HG smiled.

"I think _hack_ is too strong a word, HG," Claudia said. "Let's just say I slipped past your security system undetected and …..."

"Got what you wanted," Myka said, thinking this would make a good plan to get the men who hurt Helena.

* * *

**There was no mistake in naming the bad guy "JK". None whatsoever. Passive payback. I'll change it if you think it's too much. I will probably regret making it personal. **


	9. Alex, Meet Pete

**Chapter Nine Alex, Meet Pete**

"**The truth is rarely pure and never simple." Oscar Wilde**

* * *

"What are we gonna do doc? If they saw everything, they know who we are and what we're up to. They'll be swarming the place," Ted said.

Damien knew he had to put together a plan quickly. The best strategy would be based on information, and that was one thing Damien knew he was good at getting. He told Ted to take a picture of Alex and send it to Pete's phone – in case there was any doubt.

* * *

Helena was regaining strength in her muscles and feeling less groggy. She knew a cup of Leena's tea would set her straight, but it was not possible at the moment.

"We know now that there's a strong possibility based on White's emails that he's dealing in the black market with maybe a dissident group looking to get their hands on nanotechnology," Myka said, pacing the room.

"How much damage could these little suckers do?" Claudia asked, admiring her namesake.

"Alone, they are excellent at clandestine affairs. However….," HG said clicking on her laptop to open up to a simulation.

There in front of them was a group of cartoonish animated ants, marching in line until a rectangular formation took shape. A beam of light emanated from each set of antennae that seemed to gain in strength. Suddenly, there was a depiction of the entire group exploding.

"Exploding ants?" Claudia asked.

"They could easily find their way into the framework of a house undetected, hundreds at a time. Once they formed a perimeter around the location, one could theoretically send a signal that would be picked up by the antennae and the house would explode," HG explained.

"_This _is what you were working on in the basement?" Myka asked because HG's inventions rarely were conceived for such diabolical designs.

"No darling, my original research was designing nanobots for medical purposes; say to deliver drugs to a tumor site in cancer patients. The insects were simply a byproduct when I was bored one day," HG said truthfully.

"We need a game plan," Myka said and took the hotel pad and pen from the desk.

"I'll say," Claudia said.

"We have to get you to the meeting at nine and then track Damien White to see what he does," Myka thought out.

"Where is Pete?" HG asked, aware of his absence.

"He went to check on Alex. He was expecting a text," Myka said.

"Have you heard from him?" HG asked and it prompted Claudia to check her computer screen. She typed names into the computer. "He's at an address that is not listed for Alex or Damien."

* * *

Pete got out of the cab and looked at the address. It was the right place, but the house looked abandoned. Pete looked around for any signs of life, but there were none. He was about to text Claudia, when a text came in. "_What are you waiting for Agent Lattimer? No time for texting your friends if you want to save Alex."_

Pete shoved the phone back into his pants pocket, but not before pressing the special key that Claudia installed on all their phones. He walked to the house where the door was opened. He pushed it and walked in. There in a chair in the next room, sat Alex Chase having been transported there by Damien's thug.

"I do hope you've come alone and unarmed, Agent Lattimer," Damien said as he came into view.

"If you have hurt one hair on her head," Pete said inching toward them.

"Chivalry! Excellent. I thought you might be that sort," Damien said, waving for Pete to come closer.

"Now, I've had the nicest chat with Dr. Chase here and she tells me you've stumbled upon our plan," Damien said.

Pete tried to size up the room and whether Alex was hurt. She was taped securely in the chair and didn't appear conscious. Pete started to instinctively move his hand to the gun behind him.

"I'm going to tell you why you're not going to do that, Agent Lattimer. You see, your friend here is hooked up to a device that could shoot enough drugs through her system instantly and kill her. One wrong move and that happens," Damien threatened.

Pete's mind was racing, but he put his hands up in the air. "Got it. No problem," Pete assured him.

"Do join us Agent Lattimer. As you can see, you girlfriend has not been harmed – really," Damien said. "And other than sharing her continued infatuation for you, she's been most helpful. Now please sit down," he instructed.

"Look, whatever you're doing here, you won't get away with because people are gonna know something's up when I don't return," Pete tried and then quickly added; "Wait, infatuation? She said that? "

"Oh yes, the doctor is quite smitten with you and I'm counting on your friends showing up," Damien sneered. "Now Agent Lattimer, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either way, I get what I want."

Ted came up behind Pete, grabbed him roughly, and took the SIG pistol from his belt.

"We're going to play a game I call _two for one_," Damien said adjusting the flow of drugs in the device in Alex's neck. She started to regain consciousness.

"Pete!" she screamed as soon as she saw him.

"Alex, are you okay?" Pete tried to move closer, but Ted restrained him.

"Yes Pete, I'm okay except for the pain in my neck," she said meaning the device, "...and the pains in my ass," she said referring to her captors.

"Very funny, Dr. Chase. Open your shirt, please," he directed Pete. When Pete hesitated, he told him Ted would do it if he didn't and so Pete opened his shirt.

"Wow," Alex said, remembering what it was like to rub her hands across those pectorals.

"Oh good God," Damien said.

Hearing everyone's inner most thoughts was the down side to this work, he thought. He took the gun and shot quickly while Pete was distracted. Pete's fast reflexes caught the dart before it penetrated completely, but he knew he better play along. He became motionless, as he had witnessed HG become in the video. It took every fiber in Pete's body not to move, but he couldn't give himself up just yet. Ted had a gun aimed at Alex.

"I don't have time to give you the full cocktail, Agent Lattimer so you get the pure shot," Damien said injecting Pete with the sodium pentothal.

HG and Alex had been injected through the device which allowed the professor to control the dosage. With time running out, he opted to give Pete a one shot dose – literally. It wouldn't last as long, but he hoped it would get him what he wanted.

"Do you know who I am?" Damien asked and Pete told him everything he knew or heard about him. The muscle relaxer was weak at best, but Pete sat there still waiting for his moment.

"Do you know what my plans are?" he asked Pete. Again, the truth spilled out of Pete like syrup – he tried to fight it, but couldn't.

"Who is with Agent Wells," he asked and Pete told him two more agents were there. "And one of them is really pissed at you," he added.

"Just one?" Damien asked out of curiosity.

"Myka wants five minutes alone with you and believe me pal, I think four of those minutes are so they can pick up the pieces of you when she's done," Pete said.

"Big talk from the IRS Agents," Ted said.

"We're not IRS," Pete said and then inhaled quickly. _Where the hell did that come from?_

"I knew these guys weren't pencil pushers," Ted said.

"Wait, what?" Alex asked.

"I was going to tell you Alex, but then when we got back to the room, HG was there and ….," Pete trailed off.

"If you're not IRS, who are you?" Alex asked and Damien smiled to think an upset lover was the perfect interrogator.

"We're Secret Service," Pete said and fought back saying anything else. "Damn!" he uttered when he heard his own words.

"You're Secret Service? Wow, impressive," Alex said obviously so. Suddenly Pete felt good about having shared that.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Pete said.

"You protect the President?" Alex inquired.

"OK while I love that you two are getting acquainted, I have some questions of my own," Damien said trying to get them back on course. Then he instructed Ted to go and watch for the others whom he was sure were tracking their partner's move. Damien felt no threat being alone with Pete, his arms now secured to the chair.

"No, we protect the Warehouse," Pete said and bit his lip.

"You're Secret Service and your job is protecting a warehouse? What's in it, the President's stuff?" Alex asked because she couldn't imagine what kind of job this was.

Damien noticed the discomfort in Pete's body language as he tried desperately to stop the flow of information. His attempt to sing '_la la la la la_' which had worked fabulously with drowning out HG, was not working. Finally, like a dam about to burst, Pete let out, "We protect the Warehouse where artifacts from every century and every place imaginable are stored." Now Pete struggled with himself to shut up – not an easy feat even when he wasn't drugged.

Damien's head was swirling. Had he just stumbled upon the find of a lifetime? Was there such a place where the government kept things that had unlimited power? The idea of setting up an online EBay of artifacts raced through his mind. First, he had to take care of this deal.

"Enough Agent Lattimer, we have time to discuss your workplace later. Who is coming for me?" he asked.

"Well, HG will come if she's not all drugged up. Claudia will find this place in a heartbeat and any other info they need. She's a tech whiz, you'll like her," he said to Alex. "And Myka will come and buddy, she will go up one side of you and down the other. You messed with HG and Myka does not like that at all," Pete shared.

"Sounds like Myka is a force to be reckoned with," Damien said laughing at the absurdity of it.

"Myka is usually the reasonable one, but not when it comes to someone hurting Helena. And she's pissed. Myka never gets like that. So yeah, you won't see her coming," Pete asserted.

"Oh I do love the inflated egos of you agents," Damien said. "Agent Lattimer, if there is one thing I have learned about people, it's that they all have their weak spots. For example, if I put my hand on this device that could kill your friend here…." Damien said and Pete thrashed in the chair trying to get at him.

"I thought so. You caught that dart, didn't you? Calm down, Agent Lattimer. I have no intention of harming either one of you…. Now, who does your friend Myka care about? " Damien asked.

"Helena," Pete said immediately.

"Who is Helena?" Damien asked on a whim.

"She's …..," Pete strained to stop talking. "She's …HG Wells, the Father of Science Fiction."

"Why do you people keep saying that?" Alex asked because she kept hearing it.

"They are saying it, Dr. Chase, because they believe it to be true," Damien said. He wasn't sure what this meant, but how could he give HG away before he understood it.

"Why do you call her _HG Wells_?" Damien asked. Now even Alex was interested in the answer.

"She _is_ HG Wells," Pete said and whimpered a little to hear the words.

"How could she be HG Wells? He died in 1946," Damien said.

Pete was about to answer that when Ted came rushing back in. "Professor White, Mike says they're leaving the hotel."

"Oh you are in for it now, buddy. This is going to look so good on our reviews. Well, except for the part where I spilled my guts, but the rest will be ….and maybe the part where I gave up my weapon, but I'm pretty sure the rest will be …..but she won't like the part where HG got drugged while I was out to dinner….' Pete babbled on.

* * *

When Claudia locked on to Pete's location, she traced the owner of the house to a deceased relative of Damien's. Now instead of one plan, the agents needed two. One to rescue Pete and Alex, and the other to nab the buyer of the nanobots.

"Are you sure you're feeling up to this?" Myka asked Helena as they got ready.

"Never fitter, darling," HG said.

"The truth serum is out of your system, Helena," Myka smiled reminding the Brit she knew her well enough to know when she was lying.

"Ah yes, it would seem so," HG said. "Myka, I am really okay. Please don't do anything …," and the word _foolish_ stuck in HG's throat. Myka Bering never did anything _foolish._

Myka retrieved her Tesla to check the setting. Then she took out her gun and checked the cartridge, slamming it back into place hard. "Don't worry Helena, I will proceed with caution."

Helena didn't believe it for a minute. Myka's entire body radiated the anger that was brewing inside of her. If Leena had been there, she would have been startled at the change in Myka's aura.

They called for a cab when they got downstairs. Myka gave the guy the address and told him not to waste any time.

"Do we need back up?" Claudia asked, thinking the local police could help.

"Not yet," Myka said calmly. "I'll tell you when."

Claudia glanced over at HG. They trusted Myka with their lives, but could they trust her with her own?

* * *

**Thanks for reading along. Your posts are great - so keep them coming if/when you can.**  
**Always appreciate them. **


	10. Flight of the Bumblebee

**So the problem I face with Myka in this situation is that she's being tested - on one hand, she wants revenge. On the other - she's still a grade A agent. So you have to strike a balance when writing about her and her choices.**

**I hope you'll let me know if you think these actions are befitting her.  
Many thanks in advance for your thoughts and comments. They're very helpful. **

* * *

**Chapter Ten Flight of the Bumblebee **

"_**If you see me in a fight with a bear, pray for the bear**_**." —Unknown**

* * *

This was an usual situation for Helena. Usually, it was she who was being calmed down, talked out of inflicting bodily harm on someone because it was beyond regulations. Now the boot was on the other foot, and she was quite concerned about where Myka wanted to put it. She was trying to gage just where Myka was emotionally. She wasn't barking orders at them as much as she was very clear how things were going to go down.

"I think we can assume they leveraged Alex to get Pete to cooperate. What we also can assume is that they used the truth serum on him, and God knows what he told them," Myka said.

"Well, it's obvious Professor White thinks he's holding all the cards," HG said.

"Maybe we should have some back up," Claudia piped in with.

Myka sat deep in thought as the cab drove through the early morning light to their destination. She knew that what she wanted to do - and that the safer, more effective approach - were two different things. She did not want to endanger anyone, especially Alex who was a civilian. Backup was exactly what they needed, and yet it could cost her time alone with Damien. Myka dug her emotional heels in as she tried to rationalize that the professor's actions against Helena were cause enough for her to throw protocol and caution to the wind.

"Dammit!" she yelled out loud when she couldn't find one valid argument to justify this other than her desires to pay him back.

"Myka, I'm okay," HG said pointing out what she knew was at the heart of Myka's angst. "Let's just get him," she added.

"Did you bring _Claudia_?" Myka asked.

"Yes," HG said, producing the spider.

"What does it stand for?" Claudia asked.

"**C**landestine** l**and, **a**ir** u**niform **d**escending **i**mperceptibly **a**pparatus," HG explained.

"Cool," Claudia said of her namesake.

"I do think we need something with a little more speed though," HG said taking out a little box. Her fellow agents watched as she opened up a box that contained a bee.

"Won't it buzz?" Myka asked.

"Stealth mode," HG said pressing the program in her phone.

"_Myka_?" Claudia asked thinking she would surely name one of her creations after her.

"**I**ndigenous** r**econnaissance **e**ntering **n**eutrally,** e**ffectively," HG said.

It took her young protege a minute to say: "You named the bee _Irene_? Dude, that is so going to take points off your review!"

"It's a queen bee," HG said as if that made it any better.

* * *

Myka had the driver stop a few blocks away and formulated her plan. "If you can get her inside, we can watch on Claudia's laptop to size up the situation before we go in," Myka said.

Helena knew better than to utter the '_if?_' that was on the tip of her tongue.

"And then we'll call for help?" Claudia asked.

"Maybe," Myka said resisting what she knew was the better plan.

When the house was within their sights, HG went to work on launching the insect into the house through a small opening. In the meantime, Claudia had found the floor plans for the residence and now they superimposed the bee's flight onto the schematics so they could tell where they were. Within minutes_, Irene_ showed them what they wanted to see. From high above a perch on the doorway, the nanobot relayed the scene. Pete was in a chair next to Alex, both still secured, but awake.

* * *

"I'm really happy that we met up again," Pete was saying. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I love my friends. I love them like sisters. Well, I had a thing for Myka, but that was really early on. We woke in bed together once. Then I kissed HG and that was great, but she liked someone else. Sometimes it's just hard being surrounded by all of them, although I love them. I really do," Pete was sharing and Alex was hoping he would stop.

"Now what?" Ted asked Damien.

"We wait for his fellow agents to come. We grab the British one and hand her over to Jacques at ten," Damien said.

"And collect our money," Ted added.

"Did you give Jacques the wiring instructions for the account?" Damien asked.

"All set. He said as soon as he sees the agent who can build him the bots, he'll wire half. Then when she actually builds him one, we get the other half," Ted relayed.

"Perhaps we'll just take the one in my office, Ted," Damien said pointing out again how it had invaded his office undetected. It made him think – if one got in his office, there could be one in there now.

"Get your gun out, Ted and shoot anything that moves in this room," Damien ordered. "I'll prepare some truth serum for our friends," he said and placed the filled syringes on the desk.

* * *

"Pete, I will admit I got jealous when I saw your friend in your bed," Alex said while her captors talked. "Are you sure your friends will come?"

"Oh yeah, I sent a signal from my phone," Pete said and yelped.

"Agent Lattimer, of all the people I've used that drug on, you are by far the most entertaining," Damien said.

Just then the room reverberated with the sound of Ted's gun exploding. A large hole above the door indicated where he missed his target.

"I saw something," he said. "A bee or something!"

Just then the lights in the house went out. Within seconds they were back, and Ted was frantically searching to see if anyone was there.

"Hi Helena," Pete called out to the doorway and Ted swung around with his gun aimed. He was surprised when no one was there. The drug had worn off a while ago, but Pete kept talking as if it were – to keep up the facade. It was enough of a distraction to allow Helena to grab the large man, pulls his legs out from under him, and Kenpo him into a deep sleep. Damien grabbed his dart gun and aimed it at HG.

"We meet again, Agent Wells. Or should I say HG Wells," Damien laughed believing he was in control of the situation.

"Hey Myka, hey Claudia," Pete yelled out and Damien smiled to think he had all the help he needed in his captive.

"The one who is really upset with me I hear," Damien chuckled when he saw the agent come in with her hands up. The younger agent was alongside her.

"Don't hurt them you bastard," the dark haired agent yelled.

He kept the gun aimed at them. "Funny, I was expecting somebody larger," Damien shared surprised by the stature of the woman next to HG.

"Funny, so was I," Myka said from behind him.

Damien was surprised by the presence of someone behind him and turned quickly, only to be met by the agent who was about to exact her revenge.

"Who the hell are you?" Damien said, looking down at the funny looking gun.

"I am Agent Myka Bering," Myka said slowly, locking her eyes on him.

As soon as he flinched, Myka grabbed him and threw him down on the desk. He tried to aim the gun at her, but Myka pushed his arm up over his head as he lay there. She tried to grab it, but he shot over his head, aiming at the group of agents in the doorway. In slow motion Myka watched as the dart sped across the room aimed at HG. Claudia's voice rang out as she jumped in front of the target, knocking HG out of the way. The dart hit the young agent in the back and she fell to the floor. As the neuromuscular block seeped into her bloodstream, Claudia convulsed and then became motionless.

Helena got up and went to her, removing the dart and holding onto her.

"You sonovabitch," Pete yelled out. The policewoman who had posed as Myka came over to him and Alex and started to release them.

Myka grabbed the gun from Damien and pinned him on the desk. She glared down at him and aimed the tesla at him. Helena peered across the room to see Myka's expression – of fury. She saw the battle waging inside Myka's head as she wrestled with what she was supposed to do and what she wanted to do. Myka's frustration mounted as seconds passed and she knew her opportunity would be lost.

She picked Damien up off the desk by the lapels of his jacket and brought his face into hers.

"I could kill you, you bastard for hurting her," Myka growled at him.

"Oh, but you can't, Agent Bering. You're a federal agent and you can't touch me," Damien said. "I'll get my lawyer before you can get me to jail," he sneered.

If Damien thought stoking Myka's anger was a good thing, he was wrong. Myka smashed him onto the desk, trying to decide which gun to use on him. From across the room she heard the only sound that would give her pause.

"Myka?" Helena said and in that one word came the only thing that made Myka stop. She let go of his jacket and stood up.

"I am a tenured professor at Harvard, Agent Bering. You cannot touch me," Damien said dusting her touch off his lapels. "I believe all you can do is read me my rights."

And that's when Myka snapped.

The officer who had posed as Myka took out her handcuffs and cuffed him, reading him his Miranda rights.

"_Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law_…" the officer said.

Pete watched Myka's eye dart back and forth. "Officer?" he called and the woman turned to him. "Could you help me with this?" Pete asked as he tried to get the tap off his leg.

The woman looked at Myka who assured her she would watch Damien. Other officers were coming in the front door now. Myka acted swiftly. She went over to Damien and pulled his jacket wide open. She grabbed the two syringes on the desk. Damien's eyes widened with fear as he realized Myka knew what she was doing.

"_Anything you say…. can….. and will….. be used against you in a court of law_…." Myka said softly as she brought both arms down swiftly into Damien's chest and pushed the needles into him, releasing the sodium pentothal. Damien could see his own expression of terror in the pools of green staring back at him.

Pete thanked the officer and apologized for the interruption. She returned to the suspect unaware of what had transpired.

"Knowing and understanding your rights as I have explained them to you, are you willing to answer my questions without an attorney present?" she asked the professor - who suddenly became very talkative.

"I do, I do want to tell you everything. We planned to sell these nanobot to_ Jacques Kenne_ for millions of dollars…..," Damien told the officer. The officer took him out of the room.

"And that one? She's HG Wells, the Father of Science Fiction," Damien said.

"We got a psych case here," the arresting officer said to the others. "We better take him for a psych evaluation."

* * *

"Are you okay?" HG said to Claudia who slowly started to regain her mobility.

"Yes, although I could use those other six legs right about now," Claudia said.

"Thank you, Claudia," HG said knowing she had literally taken the bullet for her.

"Sure, no problem," Claudia responded, dismissing any notion of her bravery.

"Mykes, you okay?" Pete asked of his partner.

Myka stood there, nerves of steel on the outside, rattled inside for thinking of what she could have done.

"Yeah, we're not done here," she said. She leaned down and lifted Ted's semiconscious body up to a kneeling position.

"Ted? You're about to shave a couple of years off your sentence," Myka said.

Then she purposely let go of his body allowing it to crash to the floor.

* * *

**As always, thanks for reading along.**** Appreciate your time and postings. **


	11. The Sting

**Many thanks for coming back! Hope you enjoy this and get the humor of the antagonist's end.  
As always - enjoy, look forward to and appreciate your thoughts, posts, questions and comments. **

* * *

**Chapter Eleven The Sting**

"**When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." Maya Angelou**

* * *

Pete went to Claudia who was filled with the tingling sensation of pins and needles from her head to her toes. "Not the best feeling I've ever had," she confessed when asked how she was.

"You shot up like a bat outta hell," Pete said of her actions.

"Thank you for that. You're very brave," HG said because she still thought of her protégé as a youth instead of the adult she was blossoming into.

"And that is gonna look so good in your review," Pete added, the assessments still on his mind.

* * *

Helena walked over to a window where Myka stood staring out. "Myka?" she asked her softly. "Darling, it's okay now."

Myka turned to look at Helena. "Helena, I could have …..," she said acknowledging that her anger was brimming over when she had Damien in her grasp.

"Yes, I know Myka. You didn't though," HG reminded her.

"But I really wanted to," Myka said, looking back out the window.

Myka had only felt anger surge through her veins like that a few times before, and it was always when Helena was in danger. It worried Myka that the feeling was both exhilarating and seductive. Each time she felt she lost control over it a little more.

She knew once they found out Damien '_accidentally fell'_ on his own syringes, his confessions would not be admissible. There had to be a purpose to an agent's every action – and she was having trouble defining hers other than revenge.

* * *

"What are we doing with him?" Pete asked Myka as the cops handcuffed Ted.

"We need him. We have to get to their arms dealer," Myka said. As the police held Ted outside, the agents talked over their plan.

"No! He has no idea what Helena looks like. I am not allowing her to walk into an exchange when we don't know anything about this guy except he's looking to trade money for people," Myka yelled.

"Myka, I will be okay," HG assured her gently placing her hand on her arm. It was as stiff as steel.

Myka put her head into her hands. She was on autopilot and the agents' code and objectives kept repeating in her head. '_Pick the most qualified agent for the job. Provide complete support for that agent. Abort the moment the agent is in danger_.'

"We need this Jacques Kenne to give Ted the money in exchange for Helena," Pete pointed out.

"One crazy professor is good Myka, but an arms dealer off the market is great," Claudia added.

Without saying it, the others waited for Myka's final word. They knew she was the agent in charge – and had faith in her, in spite of the struggle within. Myka paced the floor, deep in thought until she came up with a plan.

"OK, Ted will bring Helena to the designated location. He'll exchange her for the money, but once that is done, I want her released even if it means a sharpshooter on a roof," she said looking directly at Pete.

"A sharpshooter? You don't mean? Mykes, she probably hasn't done that in …," Pete started to say when Alex added, "….….years. You can't be serious?"

"I've done my homework Doctor Chase and I know you were a sharpshooter with a score of 230," Myka said having checked Alex out on the plane ride there.

"But that was so long ago …," Alex said.

"Then you better pray you haven't lost those skills because I'm putting you on a roof near the exchange," Myka said directly.

"You don't want me to shoot this guy? I mean, I haven't shot…," Alex said thinking her skills could be rusty.

"In order for us to get this guy, the exchange has to take place. That means Helena has to go with him and the money has to be sent to the designated account. As soon as that happens, it's over. I don't want his car to drive a foot with her in it," Myka said.

"So blow out his tires? OK, you can do that right Alex?" Pete said.

"Oh his tires? Sure," Alex said relieved.

"Good," Myka said.

The local police were more than willing to help out on a case like this and followed Myka's orders to a tee.

* * *

"Darling, promise me you won't do anything foolish," HG asked Myka when they were alone.

"Helena, you're being handed over to an insane arms dealer handcuffed and you're asking me not to do anything foolish?" Myka replied.

"As soon as he puts me in the car, the handcuffs come off," HG promised.

With an hour to go now, the plan was explained to Ted who was assured his lack of cooperation in it would result in a longer jail sentence. He confirmed that the man they were going to meet was not to be messed with.

"You hand Agent Wells over, and then go back to the car where you will check the computer to make sure he's wired the money into the account. Agent Donovan will be monitoring it as well. Then you drive away where you will met by the Boston police as soon as your turn the corner here," Myka explained pointing to the map of the location.

"I don't know, " Ted hesitated thinking Kenne could kill him right then and there.

"Listen to me," Myka said closing in on him. "White will lawyer up as soon as he gets to the station. I'm guessing you don't have his resources and both of you are going down, so you might as well make your trip as comfortable as possible."

"He's a freaking arms dealer. You don't think he's going to think something's up when Professor White doesn't show up?" Ted asked.

"Oh he'll be there," Myka said and now everyone looked at her. "Pete, I need to talk to you."

Pete walked over to Myka while Claudia set her computer up to check the account that Ted gave her.

* * *

"Mykes? We're not supposed to use … I mean I know but, do you think it's okay? I mean.." Pete hesitated when she handed him _Harriet Tubman's thimble_.

"We need White to show up there, Pete. It's the only way to make sure we get this guy," Myka pointed out.

"OK sure, but don't mention to Alex about the change-a-roo thing, OK?" Pete asked. There was only so much explaining he could do when this was all over.

"Sure thing," Myka said.

* * *

The ten o'clock hour approached and Ted drove up with the man he thought was his boss and HG. Once there, Pete placed handcuffs on HG and told Ted to let Jacques Kenne see that he had her. The chauffeur opened the door to the black Crown Victoria and out stepped the buyer. Helena was surprised when she saw him. He was middle-aged, unassuming with a chubby face and thin framed glasses. He wore a dark t-shirt under a blue denim shirt and khakis. No one would ever suspect him of being the incorrigible fiend that he was.

'_How did someone so meek looking come up with so dastardly a plot_?' HG wondered to herself.

"_This i_s the genius inventor?" Jacques asked almost laughing. "If Damien is messing with me, I will have you all shot before you can get to your car."

His words made Ted very nervous. "This is the woman who invented this," Ted said and handed him the beetle that had infiltrated Damien's office.

"Tell Damien I want to see him," the dealer instructed Ted who turned to the car.

"You are not only smart, you are very beautiful. I am surprised Damien didn't charge me extra for that," Jacques said and ran his finger along Helena's jaw. She pulled back sharply, but didn't remove her handcuffs.

"He wants to see you," Ted sand and Pete had already planned for that. The thimble was snug on his pinky.

"Fine," Pete said getting out of the car slowly.

Jacques was satisfied to see the older man walking over. "That's far enough, Damien. I have wired the money to your account. The rest goes in when this lovely specimen you brought me actually does as she's told." Again, he took HG's chin in his hand.

Pete wanted to get back to the car. He knew exactly what was going on and if Myka saw this guy touch HG one more time, he was pretty sure shots would be fired.

"Very well, JK. You have what you want; now I expect the other half very soon. So get to work with your new inventor," Pete said as Damien. He started back to the car where Ted confirmed the money was in the account.

The satisfied buyer took HG by the arm and gently pushed her into the car. He instructed the driver to drive and then turned to strap the seatbelt across Helena, taking his time as he allowed his hand to run across her breast.

"Let me formally introduce myself, I am Jacques Kenne – entrepreneur extraordinaire," the man gloated. "Any you are?"

"Your worst nightmare," Helena said having already undone the handcuffs and now released herself from the seat-belt.

She swiftly pulled her captor in front of her as a shield when she saw the bodyguard aim his gun into the back seat. The driver tried to speed away, but four loud pops later, the car came to a rocky halt Seconds later, Pete was at the passenger side removing the body-guard forcibly. Helena pushed the lifeless body of Jacques Kenne off of her.

"Killed by your own staff," she said to the dead man as she retrieved her insect from his pocket.

* * *

The door swung opened and the welcomed sight of Myka appeared -reaching in to make sure Helena was okay.

"Good job, Agent Wells," Myka said when she say the bullet hole in the back. "You're not hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. Really good. Thank goodness these things haven't changed much," HG laughed handing the cuffs to Myka. Myka smiled and thought back to the first time she heard HG utter those exact words.

Police swarmed the cars taking the driver, body-guard and the dead arms dealer away. Ted was taken into custody, but not before he noticed Damien was gone and Pete was there. "You people are just freaky," he yelled at them as they took him away.

"We've been called worse by worse, pal," Pete called back.

"Good job, Dr. Chase," Myka said shaking the doctor's hand.

"Maybe if that bug job doesn't work out," Claudia said, but Alex shook her head vehemently.

"My shooting days are long over. Well, until today," Alex laughed. "We have so much to talk about," she said turning to Pete. It was easy to see that in spite of how hard that might be, his face still light up when she was talking to him.

"Great job everyone," Myka said walking back to the car.

Just then the Farnsworth went off and they all stopped in their tracks. Artie!

"Fill-me- it," Artie instructed.

"Well hello to you too. Where are you?" Myka asked because there seemed to be clothes hanging all around him.

"At the house. Fill-me-in," he barked.

"We're in Boston," Myka said not looking directly into the screen.

"You were supposed to be here! Will there ever come a time when the two of you, or anyone for that matter, does as they are told?"

Myka had heard this rant before. This was Artie letting off steam when he didn't know what was going on.

"Artie -are you in the hall closet?" Myka asked slowly because the image was dark and he seemed to be surrounded by clothing.

"What? No, don't be ridiculous," Artie said back.

He was in fact in that very place. When he got the message that Mrs. Frederic wanted to continue with the reviews this morning, he expected some of his staff to be there with him. Faced with the likelihood that he would be there with the Sage alone, and not be able to account for everyone else's whereabouts, he did what any sane man would do – he hid.

Suddenly the image lightened as if someone had opened the door.

"Arthur really! Did you think for a minute I wouldn't find you? The closet is the very first place I would look," came the familiar voice of their boss.

Myka's eyes widened as she bit her lip to suppress the laugh at Artie's expression.

"I have to go. When will you be home?" he said calmly.

"Soon Artie, I promise," Myka said. She knew that Mrs. Frederic would be upset that Artie didn't know what his staff was. "I'll explain everything later."

"Good," Artie said and closed the Farnsworth.

* * *

Artie stepped out of the closet wondering for a second if it was worth it to make up a lie that he was looking for something, but the look on Irene's face told him not to bother.

"Where are they Arthur?" she asked.

"Boston," he said and waited for the barrage of questions.

He was surprised to hear his boss say instead; "Good, very good."


	12. Taking he Lead

**Chapter Twelve Taking the Lead**

**What the caterpillar calls the end, the rest of the world calls a butterfly.~ Lao Tzu**

* * *

"Will you ever explain to me how you know exactly where to find me?" Artie asked the Keeper out of frustration.

"Of course Artie," she said sympathetically as if she really understood his emotional response. "Because I know where you are not," she said to a dead panned expression.

"When are they due back?" the Sage asked making herself comfortable in the dining room. Artie didn't like the idea of several hours alone with the woman handing out reviews.

"They're on their way to the airport, due in this afternoon. I really have to get to the Ware…," he tried.

"Not so fast, Agent Nielsen. I have some things I would like to review with you," Mrs. Frederic said and indicated for Artie to take a seat.

* * *

Alex drove everyone to the airport after they each gave their story to the police. Damien White had indeed lawyered up and wasn't saying much after he divulged a great deal of information. The lawyer suggested he stop repeating the story of one of the agents being HG Wells because it would earn him a psych evaluation aside from his trial. He was out on bail, but his troubles were only beginning. He was forced out on sabbatical, lost all privileges at Harvard, and his life's work was handed over to another team to continue being worked on. All of that didn't hurt as much as the knowledge that someone else – a certain HG Wells – had invented a nanobot far superior to his. That haunted Damien the most.

* * *

On the drive home hours later, Pete was unusually quiet not even begging to stop for ice cream. "You ok, Pete?" Claudia asked as she sat in the back of the SUV with him.

"Yeah," Pete answered.

"You and Alex make any definite plans?" his young friend inquired.

"Yeah, we're going to Skype later. Maybe she'll come out here in a few weeks," he answered solemnly.

"Long distance relationships bite, dude," Claudia said sympathetically.

Helena motioned to Myka to park near the bakery that Pete loved. "Back in a jiffy," the Brit said as she went into the store. Moments later she returned with a large bag of confectionery treats – most of them for the lovelorn Pete.

"God these are good," he said as he bit down on a crispy bear claw.

Myka was relieved to see the smile come back on his face. She didn't think they could handle a depressed Pete. She pulled up to the B&B joining in the teasing of Pete – and then she saw Mrs. Frederic. She had a question or two for her boss. Her mood and gait instantly changed as they walked to the front of the house.

"Agents." Mrs. Frederic greeted them and momentarily stopped. "I trust everything went well with Dr. White?"

"He was insane, did you know that?" Myka asked and her tone made the other three agents stop in their tracks. "You sent her to an insane person who kidnapped her, drugged her and was about to sell her to an arms dealer," Myka said with her hands on her hips.

Myka was not one to question authority and if she did, she went through the proper channels. Helena being threatened made her skip all those steps and go straight to the top.

Mrs. Frederic stared at Myka. Then she looked at the others who quickly assessed their presence was not needed. Only Helena stood her ground, which did not surprise the woman as much as Myka's tone did.

"We had no way of knowing that did we?" Mrs. Frederic asked.

"No good enough!" Myka said shoving her hands in her pockets after she let that out.

"Let's walk shall we?" Mrs. Frederic said and Helena worried. When the Sage asked you to walk with her it was always because you needed to learn something and she would walk you around the property until she thought you got it.

"Agent Wells, I'd like to speak with Agent Bering in private," her boss said, but it wasn't until Myka's eyes said it was okay did Helena move toward the house.

* * *

Myka knew what this was about. She had seen all the others be invited on walks with their boss. This was her first, but she was mad as hell and didn't care. Finally, when they reached the wooded area of the property, Myka couldn't take the silence anymore.

"You put her in danger, Mrs. Frederic. You sent her because _someone _at the White House insisted and we didn't check that lunatic out? This guy was a crazy bastard, excuse my French," Myka said, and now the two women stopped walking.

"What would you have found if you checked, Agent Bering?" her boss inquired.

"Well ….we might have been able to find something? Something that might have tipped us off. And then she wouldn't have gone in alone," Myka pointed out.

"She didn't go alone," the Sage countered.

"Oh," Myka said knowing that she had just been one upped. "But Pete was….. preoccupied," Myka said gingerly.

"Agents get preoccupied, Agent Bering, especially when their personal lives blend with their work lives," the lesson giver said.

"What personal lives?" Myka let out before she knew it.

"This is a new world, Agent Bering. We at the Warehouse try to build on what we've learned in the past years, even when it comes to the agents. I have seen the effects of being singular with this job have been," Irene said and Myka noticed the far away gaze in her eyes.

"I wasn't saying," Myka said trying to apologize for the feeling she saw in that look.

"No, I know you weren't. The point is Myka, that the Regents were very pleased with your annual review," Mrs. Frederic said resuming her walk.

Myka felt the shift in topics. "I thought our reviews …. We weren't here, I mean," Myka said. Mrs. Frederic stopped and smiled -and Myka definitely thought she was asking her _when will you ever learn_ -in that smile.

"You do know you're our lead agent, Myka yes?" the woman asked and Myka was uncomfortable with that question.

"We're a team, Mrs. Frederic," Myka said.

"Every team needs a leader," Irene countered.

"Any one of us could have done what I did," Myka pointed out. "You know I almost…," and Myka didn't fill in the blank because she knew her boss already knew.

"But you didn't, Myka. That is what makes you a leader. That is what you will be working on now, Myka," Irene said leading the way.

Myka's eyes darted back and forth while she tried to figure that out.

"There are changes coming to the Warehouse Myka, and we must prepare for them as best we can," Irene added without explaining anything. "You are a natural born leader, Myka, but you don't know it unless we put you in difficult situations. I will need you to work on getting more comfortable with the idea that you can lead this team," Mrs. Frederic said stopping to smell the roses…..on purpose.

Myka knew she should feel complimented, but this wasn't the conversation she thought she was going to have.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Frederic, but this still doesn't answer why you let Helena walk into danger without Intel first," Myka said.

"Warehouse Agents don't have the luxury of Intel, do we? Many times we are dealing with the unknown and there's little to go on," her boss reminded her. She could see her answers were still not satisfying Myka.

"Myka, when the White House called on Professor White's behalf to send Helena there, that was the _second_ call I had received," Mrs. Frederic explained.

"The second?" Myka asked.

"Yes, you see we were being called on to flush out the arms dealer that Professor White was dealing with," the Sage explained.

"The Vice President?" Myka asked.

"No, his boss made the first call to ask for our help. The government had been watching Professor White, but needed our help in getting him to give up the name of his contact. That is why I allowed Helena to go to him. Large quantities of sodium pentothal were traced to his address at the school. Giving Agent Wells too much information could have jeopardized the mission," Irene said.

Myka thought over everything she was being told.

"You had no way of knowing I would go there," Myka said and again was met with that knowing look.

"Agent Bering, if there is one thing I have learned is that where Agent Wells is concerned, you are there," the Warehouse Keeper smiled.

"What happens to Damien White? He's layered up by now," Myka asked.

"Yes, he has," Mrs. Frederic said walking further. "But you see Myka, when you call on a powerful friend for a favor and then make him look bad, that friend becomes your worst enemy. The White House will handle this one."

They continued to walk to the back of the property where the tea garden was that Helena had built for Myka.

"There is only one thing I regret," Mrs. Frederic said.

"What is that?" Myka asked.

"Helena on truth serum," the Sage almost smiled and looked up to the heavens trying to picture it. "I cannot imagine her being any more candid than she is."

Myka bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"She's waiting for you in the garden," Irene said and kept walking in the other direction.

Myka knew better than to question her boss, so she walked through the passage way and into the green space speckled with wild flowers shooting up on either side. There indeed at the end of the garden was Myka's raison d'être, waiting for her. Upon seeing Myka, Helena rushed to her and pulled her to sit at the table in chairs that were facing a tree.

"What are we….?" Myka started to ask, but Helena hushed her and pointed to the tree branch that was hanging near them.

Myka raised up her torso and stretched her neck to see what Helena was pointing out. Finally, she was able to distinguish the green glob attached to a large leaf. Something was moving in it, and as she watched, the chrysalis started to shake. Myka turned momentarily to see the excited look on Helena's face and didn't want to look back because all she wanted to see was right there.

"Look," Helena insisted with the excitement of a young child seeing something for the first time.

Myka looked back in time to see the cocoon open and after struggling, out came a black butterfly with emerald-green on its wings. Myka watched as it flew to the leaf and rested after its exhausting journey to be born. It was beautiful, both in its color and stance.

How fortunate for them to be there at the exact moment to witness the metamorphosis.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Myka said reaching over and taking Helena's hand.

"Watch," Helena said as the object of their interest spread its wings and took flight.

_How did Helena know the exact moment it was going to take off_? Myka wondered.

"Helena?" she asked looking at her genius friend.

"I call _it metamorphic yielding kinetic ascension_," Helena beamed at her invention.

Myka thought for a moment. "_Myka_?" she asked smiling at how slick her friend thought she was.

"Is it? Really? What a coincidence," Helena laughed and ran out of the garden as Myka chased her.

Helena stopped near the tree, laughing so hard she lost her breath. Myka pushed her back with a kiss that was as sweet as the honeysuckle vine that grew near them.

"You can't fool me, Helena Wells," Myka said trying to catch her breath. "Oh look, Helena built a wasps' nest," Myka said feigning fear and putting her hand out to touch the gray ball attached to the tree bark. _Helena was leading her to the next sight of her inventions_, she thought.

"Myka!" Helena said slowing turning when she heard the angry tenants emerging.

"Wow! Helena how did you make so many?" Myka asked she put her hand up to look at them.

Their collective screams could be heard all the way up to the house. Myka truly was the lead agent that day as she ran faster than her genius inventor friend as they ran for their lives to the safely of the back porch.

"It's going to be a long year," Mrs. Frederic smiled as she got into her car. She was pleased with the transformation her agents had made ….and were continuing to make.

* * *

Claudia stepped out of the way of the door as her friends escaped the swarm.

"No yours?" she asked Helena.

"Definitely not," HG said.

"Do you know why Mrs. F found it so interesting that you named the bee after me?" Claudia asked her friends as they sat down and drank iced tea in the kitchen.

"No," they said together.

"She asked me if I knew what _supersedure_ was." Claudia asked grabbing the bag of pastries and looking inside to find only crumbs. "What is that, HG?"

Myka looked at the expression of concern on Helena's face. "What is it Helena?" she asked.

"It is the process by which…. the old queen bee is replaced …..by a new queen," Helena said slowly.

Both Myka and Helena could not help but look at their young friend, whose expression was a mixture of confusion and apprehension.

The three friends sat in silence - none of them able to answer any of the questions that swarmed in their heads.

"The line it is drawn  
The curse it is cast  
The slow one now  
Will later be fast  
As the present now  
Will later be past  
The order is  
Rapidly fadin'  
And the first one now  
Will later be last  
For the times they are a-changin'." **Bob Dylan**

* * *

The end.


End file.
